Konoha's Dream Team
by ZenoNoKyuubi
Summary: Naruto of the Mokuton; heir to the Senju; natural powerhouse; charismatic leader, and Sasuke of the Sharingan; Uchiha survivor; prodigy; genius. Brothers in all but blood, the 'Unbeatable Duo.' Sometimes, all it takes is a single light to bring you out of the darkness. Finding support in each other, these two will take the Elemental Countries by storm! Good!Sasuke! Naru/Ino later
1. Chapter 1

**What's up, guys? ZnK here with a brand new story! Well, not brand new... I've been working on this for two years now, but I haven't been able to maintain inspiration for it. But, you know, several chapters in, I've realized that it would be good to publish this thing to get some feedback. Usually, feedback gets me all pumped, after all.**

**So, a few things before we start. In this story, Naruto is a Senju. How that is will be revealed in this chapter. He has the Wood Element, and will be able to use it very well. I have always had this idea of a new version of Hashirama and Madara. I have always thought that the two would have been an amazing team if Madara had chosen to stay in Konoha. But I wouldn't know how to write a story with them as the main characters, so I went for the second best option: Make Naruto and Sasuke epic.**

**So, there will be no bashing in this fic. Sasuke is a good guy. Kakashi isn't some piece of shit sensei who plays favorites. The village hasn't been beating Naruto since he was born. The only scorn Naruto has faced has been glares, whispers, and getting kicked out of shops. Any injuries he's sustained in his youth has been from picking fights.**

**So, with that said, please enjoy the story!**

–

"Um, sensei?"

Eight-year old Uchiha Sasuke stood, his arms crossed, watching with cold eyes as Akimichi Chouji and Nara Shikamaru, both his age, stood opposite each other in front of their teacher, Umino Iruka, behind the Ninja Academy. A traditional shinobi spar was taking place.

"What?" Iruka asked Chouji, who looked a bit meek.

"I don't really wanna beat up my friend..."

"That's not what we're doing, this is a traditional shinobi spar," Iruka said, smiling. "Even the Hokage and his friends trained like this to help them grow strong."

Shikamaru didn't seem to listen, however. Instead, he just turned away and walked off.

"Sensei, I'm fine with losing by ring out," he announced, which made Chouji smile. "Call the next pair."

Iruka sighed, exasperated, then gestured for Shikamaru to come back and said, "Fine. Shikamaru, Chouji, the symbol of harmony. Next..."

As Chouji and Shikamaru hooked their middle and index fingers with each other, Iruka looked over the clipboard in his hands, trying to decide on the next pair.

"Uh... Next is Uzumaki Naruto! And Uchiha Sasuke! You're up!"

As Sasuke walked into the ring that had been drawn on the ground, the girls in his class squealed with joy. Sasuke hated when they did that. He thought that ignoring them would make them stop, but they seemed to love his loner personality. Ignoring them once more, he looked to the kid who walked into the ring with him.

The boy had spiky, blond hair, intense blue eyes, and three strange, whisker-like markings on each cheek. Sasuke could see that he shouldn't relax when it came to this boy, as his expression was very rebellious, and his already bruised knuckles, coupled with the faded bruise on his cheek and the butterfly bandage over the cut above his left eyebrow told him that this kid was a fighter.

"Let's do this," the other boy, Naruto, said with a grin that screamed defiance and confidence.

"Naruto!" Iruka barked, placing his hand in a half-Ram seal. "Before the spar, you have to make the symbol of combat! It's the proper protocol!"

"I couldn't give a crap!" Naruto exclaimed brashly and very loudly. "Just start the fight, yeah?"

"So stupid..." Sasuke muttered. "Fine, I'll take you down in one-"

"Stop, the both of you!" Iruka ordered. "Sheesh! Listen, these shinobi spars are a tradition that's been passed down for generations! I realize there's a lot of etiquette, but it's important, and here at the academy, we're teaching you the basics! First, you always face your opponent and point your fingers like this. This is the symbol of combat. It represents on half of a seal that might be used to activate a Ninjutsu technique, and means, 'I've come to face you in battle!' When the spar is over, both participants make the symbol of combat and lock their fingers together, to make the symbol of harmony and acknowledge that they are still comrades. This is all part of the proper etiquette for a shinobi spar, and-" Iruka stopped and twitched when he saw Naruto looking away, cleaning out his ear. "Are you listening, Naruto?! This's the second time I've told you this!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."

"Say 'Yes,' and say it once, you little brat!"

Naruto scoffed, but then smirked and formed the symbol of combat, staring into Sasuke's eyes, the Uchiha forming the same symbol.

"Begin!" Iruka yelled out, and the two kids charged at each other.

Sasuke was right when he had assumed that Naruto could fight. He was used to being strong and all, so when Naruto seemed to anticipate every strike and counter with the same efficiency as Sasuke himself, the Uchiha was understandably shocked.

The two traded blows, and Sasuke, though entirely focused on the fight, noticed in the corner of his eye how the other students were staring in open shock. None of them had apparently been expecting Naruto to be this good.

Sasuke grunted when he felt a punch connect with his stomach, hard... And when he hunched over, gritting his teeth, his mind's eye flashed back to that night, when he in a rage fueled by grief had charged at Itachi, who had delivered a similar punch to his stomach.

Stumbling back, Sasuke glared at Naruto, and before his eyes the blond's features changed. Instead of the spiky-haired, cocky blond, there stood the source of his hatred, Uchiha Itachi. Sasuke felt that familiar rage fill him, and he charged at his brother with renewed vigor, taking him completely by surprise with his increased speed. He laid into him with punches, then managed to knock him to the ground, jumping on him and straddling him.

His eyes wide with rage, Sasuke raised his fist, ready to pound Itachi's head to mush. Then, he heard the cheering of the girls in his class, and he heard Iruka's call of, "Sasuke wins!" which brought him back to the present. He saw Itachi's mouth curve up into a smirk.

"Hoh, I've seen eyes like that before," he said, and when he spoke, Sasuke heard Naruto's voice, and Itachi slowly warped back into Naruto, whose smirk faded to be replaced by a curious look. "But for once, it's not directed at me... Who are you looking at?"

Sasuke felt himself twitch. He hesitated, then slowly got off Naruto as Iruka said, "Now, both of you make the symbol of harmony, and we'll move on."

Naruto got to his feet and rubbed the bruise that had resurfaced on his cheek after Sasuke punched him rather hard on it. He put his hand in the symbol of combat, then held it out to Sasuke, giving him a calculating look. Sasuke grunted and did the same, hooking his fingers with Naruto's.

They let go immediately, and Sasuke turned away, gritting his teeth.

–

Later found Sasuke sitting on the Yondaime's head on the Hokage Monument. He had never been up there before, but Iruka, who had noticed the look in Sasuke's eyes, had told him that it was a great place to just sit down and think. He said that he had gotten the idea from another student. When asked who, the teacher had just shrugged and walked away.

Sasuke had to admit, he could see so much from up there. He felt so... small, as though his problems were just a single drop in a vast ocean. He-

"Oi," came a grumpy voice from behind Sasuke, interrupting his train of thought. Sasuke looked over his shoulder to see that kid from the academy, Naruto, standing there, his hands in the pockets of his beige cargo shorts. He hadn't changed shirts, so his white t-shirt still had blood spatter on it. Surprisingly, however, his busted lip had already healed, and the bruise on his cheek had almost completely faded. Naruto pointed at the stone where Sasuke sat. "You're in my seat."

"Don't see your name on it, loser," Sasuke snapped back, glaring at Naruto, whose face scrunched up in anger.

"Want me to kick you off, you little shit?!"

"I'm as tall as you!" Sasuke barked. Then, he scoffed and turned to look over the village again. "What are you doing here?"

"I always come here," Naruto muttered as he walked up to Sasuke and sat down next to him. "The people in this village treat me like crap, so I come up here, and look over the whole village, and... I dunno, I feel something."

"Something?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"An incredible need to protect this place," Naruto explained with a shrug. "I'm gonna be a great ninja, and continue the old man's work."

"Old man?"

"The Hokage-jiji. I'm gonna take over for him as Hokage one day! Then everyone in the village will acknowledge my existence!"

Sasuke scoffed in amusement.

"What a foolish dream."

Suddenly, Sasuke found his collar grabbed by Naruto, who pulled him closer and glared into his eyes with an intensity that Sasuke had never seen before. There was a fire in Naruto's eyes that burned brightly, brightly enough to shock Sasuke into speechlessness. This kid had one hundred percent confidence that his dream would come true.

"Say that again!" Naruto growled out angrily.

"Gerroff!" Sasuke grunted, slapping Naruto's hands off his collar. He righted it again and lowered his head, so that half his face was covered by the high Uchiha trademark collar, gazing darkly out over the village. "I said it was a foolish dream. Empty words aren't going to make them reality..."

"All dreams start out as words. They're the foundation you can build them on," Naruto said insistently. "Without dreams, we will fall into stagnation and our lives will become inconsequential."

Sasuke blinked at that and slowly turned to look at the important-looking Naruto in confusion.

"Stagnation? Inconsequential?" he asked curiously. "What's that mean?"

"Dunno," Naruto said with a shrug. "But that's what Jiji told me when I told him about my dream, and if the Hokage says it, it must be important!"

"Hoho, indeed, Naruto-kun!"

Both Naruto and Sasuke jumped in surprise and turned their heads to see none other than the elderly Sandaime Hokage standing behind them, smiling brightly.

"Ah, Jiji!" Naruto exclaimed as he shot to his feet, pointing accusingly at Sasuke. "This punk said my dream is dumb!"

"Tch..." Sasuke pouted and looked away.

"Don't be too hard on Sasuke-kun," the Sandaime said kindly, walking up and kneeling behind Sasuke, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke's life has been rough recently, so it is understandable that he is skeptical. But it's amazing that you two found each other up here."

"Hah?" Naruto blinked, tilting his head to the side. "What are you on about, Jiji?"

"You both have darkness in your lives, a darkness no one could ever understand," the Sandaime said, which made Sasuke's eyes widen as he turned his head to look at Naruto in shock. This kid had a rough life? "I think that, of all the people in this village, you two are probably the ones who can understand and help each other the best."

Sasuke looked skeptically at Naruto, who gave him an identical look.

"That pampered prince?" Naruto asked at the exact same time as Sasuke said, "That troublemaking idiot?"

The Sandaime just chuckled as he patted both boys on the head and said, "Iruka told me that you two sparred today, the strongest in the class. If you were that energetic during your spar, you should have gotten a feel for each others' reasons for fighting."

Rising again, the Sandaime smiled brightly at them.

"I believe, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, that if you two talk, you will become great friends. It's not good to keep everything bottled up inside."

With that, the Sandaime disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto looked a bit confused for a moment, then shrugged and plopped down next to Sasuke again, humming.

"What he mean? Had it rough?" the blond mumbled, and Sasuke's eyes darkened as he lowered his head again, hiding behind his collar.

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Fine," Naruto said with a shrug. "Not like I wanna talk to a punk like you, anyway! I just came here to enjoy the view!"

Sasuke scoffed, keeping his gaze on the village. The two sat in silence for a while, and Sasuke thought back to the spar he had had with Naruto earlier that day. The Sandaime said that they should be able to understand each other, and Sasuke could remember that Itachi had said something similar once, that when two warriors clash, their minds connect, and their true feelings are displayed to each other.

Slowly, Sasuke turned his head to look at Naruto, who kept his defiant look on his face as he looked over the village.

"You have determination," Sasuke spoke up suddenly, which made Naruto look at him. "I got that from our spar. You're constantly trying to prove yourself, and the determination is just an outlet for all the hate you hold inside. Hatred for what?"

"Why should I answer? You didn't..."

Sasuke gave another scoff and looked away from Naruto again. He contemplated for a moment, then said, "I am from the Uchiha clan. My brother was the strongest of us all. He was my hero. For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to be like him. Then, about a month ago..." Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the events flashing before his eyes. He contemplated avoiding telling Naruto, but felt that it might be best if he talked about it. "About a month ago, my brother killed my entire clan, before fleeing the village."

Naruto blinked in surprise at that.

"Wow... That... sucks, I guess..."

"What about you?" Sasuke asked, hoping to find something else to focus on.

"What about me?"

"Have you lost anyone? The Hokage said we'd understand each other, so..."

"I don't think he meant it like that," Naruto said with a shrug. "I've never lost a family member."

"Oh," Sasuke thought, and couldn't help but envy Naruto for how lucky he-

"Then again, I've never had any family to begin with."

"Huh?" Sasuke blinked in surprise. Maybe Naruto wasn't so lucky after all?

"Yeah, I'm an orphan. No idea who my parents are. I think they died on the day I was born, during the Kyuubi attack, or something."

"Oh," Sasuke said slowly. "Is that why you have such a suppressed hatred?"

"Nope, I don't hate the Kyuubi," Naruto said, shaking his head. "I don't really hate anything."

"That's total crap," Sasuke muttered, giving Naruto a skeptical look. "The Hokage said that we'd be able to understand each other, since we've sparred, and I felt a lot of hatred coming from you."

Naruto scoffed, crossing his arms and turning away while muttering, "What do you know?"

"I know a look of hatred. I see it every time I look in the mirror. So tell me."

Naruto kept his defiant look for a few moments, but then he seemed to deflate as he turned his head to look over the village.

"The villagers, I guess..." he muttered. "They think I'm blind and deaf, but I see and hear everything. Most of these people... they glare at me for no reason, and they whisper things about me, even though they don't know me. They whisper such... hurtful things..."

"Why would they do that? I mean, you're a troublemaking fool, but that's-"

"Shaddap!" Naruto snapped. "I only started causing trouble _because_ they whispered a bunch of crap!"

Sasuke's eyes widened at that. "Then... why are they whispering?"

"Dunno," Naruto said with a shrug. "They've been doing it for as long as I can remember. When I ask the old man, he gets all dodgy and changes the subject."

"So... you have no idea what it's like to lose family... and I have no idea what it's like to not have family in the first place, or be whispered about by the villagers..." Sasuke muttered, furrowing his brow. "_How_, exactly, are we meant to understand each other?"

"Well, I don't think Jiji meant that we'd understand the thingy itself, but the pain it caused."

"The thingy?"

"The Jiji has a word for it, but I can't p... pron... I can't say it."

"You should work on that..."

"Gimme a break, alright? I never had someone to teach me properly..."

Sasuke scoffed in amusement as he looked over the village again, a small smirk on his face.

"You're pretty useless, aren't you?"

"SHADDAP! I'LL KICK YOU DOWN FROM HERE!"

–

As Sasuke walked into the academy the following day, he couldn't help but feel... happy? Yes, it was probably happiness that he felt. He and Naruto had talked a lot the previous evening. They had found that the Sandaime was right. Though their situations were vastly different, they had connected thanks to the fact that the pain they felt was very similar, despite being so radically different.

Also, Sasuke felt quite proud of himself for having spent most of the night studying a dictionary so that he could confuse Naruto with big words the following day.

Sasuke looked around the classroom, finding two fangirls sitting on either side of the seat he had taken the previous day. They were watching him expectantly, and Sasuke felt very reluctant to go there, so he desperately searched for another spot to sit in.

He found it, and as luck would have it, the seat was next to Naruto, who was resting his head on his arms, snoozing peacefully.

"Yo," Sasuke said as he came up to Naruto and sat down next to him. Naruto opened a single eye and looked at him.

"Yo," he muttered back, yawning. "You look tired."

"I was up late last night," Sasuke said, smirking. He didn't need to tell him _why_ he'd been up. He'd just settle for using the fruits of his labor.

"Yeah, same here," Naruto said with a nod. "I'm very haggard. I spent most of last night reading a dictionary. It was exhilarating and refreshing at the same time as it was vexatious."

Sasuke twitched. He narrowed his eyes and looked away, realizing that he had no idea what that last word meant.

"I also studied a dictionary, but I never got that far into it..."

"Yeah, those words were probably the only words I bothered to actually memorize properly," Naruto said, sighing tiredly. "It's waaay too much of a hassle to bother with big words..."

"Hn."

"Alright, alright, settle down!" came Iruka's voice as the Chuunin teacher entered the classroom. As usual, this had no effect whatsoever on the class, who kept chattering with each other. Iruka twitched once, took a deep breath, and yelled out, "SHUT THE HELL UP!"

This, as usual, got their attention, and classes got started.

After the class was let out for the day, Naruto and Sasuke didn't go to their respective homes. Instead, they headed to the library, and Sasuke couldn't help but notice the look Naruto got from the librarian, who had looked on the verge of kicking him out before she saw Sasuke accompanying him. He didn't voice this, however, as Naruto was in a good mood, since he had finally gotten a friend.

Well, Sasuke hadn't officially said that they were friends, and though he was loath to admit it, he saw Naruto as one. He didn't really know why. They had just clicked somehow.

So now, they were looking through scroll after scroll, researching ninja and chakra as much as possible. Naruto had wanted to spend the day at Ichiraku Ramen, but Sasuke had convinced him to go to the library. After all, he couldn't grow strong enough to become Hokage and get everyone to acknowledge him by spending his days at the ramen stand.

"Aaaah, sensor ninja, medic ninja, offensive ninja, defensive ninja, Genjutsu specialist, Ninjutsu specialist, Taijutsu specialist..." Naruto muttered, looking through his thirteenth scroll that day. "There's so much to choose from. How do you know which one fits you?"

"I'll be an offensive type, I think," Sasuke said, humming. "Yeah, definitely. I'll also specialize in all three: Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu."

"Hah? You don't seem the Genjutsu type..." Naruto said, tilting his head to the side.

"Well, not right now, but when I get my Sharingan, it'll come naturally."

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a long time.

"Sha... rin... gan...?"

"I'll tell you later."

Shrugging, Naruto looked back down at the scroll, furrowing his brow in thought and picked up another one, clicking his tongue and muttering, "I think I'd make a good sensor. Also, I'll probably be a mix of offensive and defensive, specializing in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu."

"It'd be good to have a sensor on the team," Sasuke said, nodding slowly.

"On the team?"

"Well, we're going to be on the same team, aren't we? You're probably the only one in the academy I can stand. And hopefully, that Hyuuga girl will end up with us, too, as she's probably the only girl who doesn't follow me around like a lost puppy..."

"I didn't know we get to pick our teammates..."

"We don't. But we can manipulate things so that we do."

Naruto blinked slowly. Then, he ordered, "Explain."

"From what I can tell, they pair the highest scoring boy and girl with the lowest scoring boy. Therefore, I will become rookie of the year, as is expected of me, but you get barely passing grades, and become dead last. That way, we'll end up on the same team, even if you're just below me in power."

"You sound confident in your own power..."

"I'm an Uchiha, so I have a right to be," was the only explanation Sasuke gave, which made Naruto snort. Then, Naruto burst out laughing, and Sasuke was incredibly surprised to find that he was joining in in the laughter.

–

"Naruto!" Sasuke barked in an uncharacteristically loud voice. Around his friend (dare he say best friend?), Sasuke had always been different. He was a lot... happier, he supposed one could call it. It had now been six months since they met, and Sasuke had found something more to live for.

When his clan was killed, he had thought that everyone he cared about had disappeared. All he had seen in front of him was Itachi, and his desire to kill the man. Now, however... he had realized that although the Uchiha Clan would always be very dear to him, and he would always miss them, he could get new people who were precious to him. Granted, he had only found one person who he could call precious, but still.

Also, his clan could be revived. That responsibility rested on Sasuke's shoulders now, if he wanted to bring the clan back to greatness. Therefore, he couldn't just focus all his attention on getting strong enough to kill Itachi. After all, if he failed... then the Uchiha Clan would be forever gone from Konoha.

"Naru- whoa..."

Sasuke came to a sudden halt when he reached their clearing in training area three, where he and Naruto had been given permission to train. He found Naruto sitting in the very center, looking around with a bright smile on his face. Why was he smiling? Because trees had sprouted from the ground around him, trees that Sasuke was one hundred percent sure hadn't been there before!

"How...?"

"Oh, hey, Sasuke!" Naruto said, getting to his feet and jogging over to Sasuke. "Isn't this cool? I can create trees!"

"How did you do that? Wood isn't an element!" Sasuke said, eyes still wide in shock. Their senses had sharpened enough that they weren't surprised when the Sandaime appeared in the clearing. They heard him the second his sandal touched the dirt.

"I would also like to know that, Naruto-kun," the Sandaime spoke up, staring at Naruto curiously.

"Well, I just sat there, meditating, and suddenly I started molding chakra, but it felt different, somehow, like my chakra was split in two. So, I tried putting it together again, and... poof," Naruto finished lamely, gesturing for the trees around them.

"Naruto-kun, did you know that the Wood Release is a bloodline limit?" the Sandaime said seriously, making both Naruto and Sasuke go wide-eyed.

"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed, a grin appearing on his face as he turned to Sasuke. "Did you hear that, Sasuke? I have a bloodline, too!"

"Indeed you do, Naruto-kun. Have any of you heard of the Wood Release before?"

"I've heard it mentioned by my father once, I think," Sasuke said, scratching his head. "Other than that, no."

"Nope."

"The Wood Release was the special bloodline ability of the Shodai Hokage, boys," the Sandaime said, and it didn't take more than a second for both Naruto and Sasuke to realize what he was saying.

"Holy mother-hubbering crap!" Naruto exclaimed, eloquently putting into words what both boys felt. "I'm... I'm related to the Shodai Hokage?!"

"And in turn the Nidaime, Naruto-kun," the Sandaime said, nodding. "How, I do not know. I didn't think either of your parents were related to them... The Nidaime never had any children, and the last known descendant of the Shodai is..." The Sandaime's eyes widened. "No... It couldn't be..."

Naruto blinked, then looked at Sasuke, who shrugged. Neither of them needed to speak in order to know that the other had no clue what the Sandaime was talking about. The old Hokage seemed to realize this, as he smiled at them.

"The last known descendant of the Shodai Hokage was the son of Senju Tsunade. However, she was forced to give him up for adoption, against the wishes of the village, of course, as she didn't think she could be trusted to raise a child. I believe that fate somehow intervened, and the child remained in the village despite everything..."

A smirk slowly spread on the Sandaime's face.

"Naruto-kun, I believe you now deserve to find out the truth about your parents," he said, making Naruto's eyes widen, along with Sasuke's, as Naruto had told him that the Sandaime had often said that it would be too dangerous for the blond to know. "Why don't we talk somewhere more private?"

"Can Sasuke come?" Naruto asked hopefully. "'Cause you know I'll tell him anyway."

The Sandaime looked at Sasuke, who thought for a moment that the old man doubted he could be trusted. Those thoughts were unfounded, however, as the Sandaime smiled not even half a second later.

"Of course, good friends should never have to hide things from each other, after all. Secrets create a rift between them that can almost never be mended. So, Sasuke-kun, would you like to come along as well?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Sasuke said eagerly, nodding. If Naruto was related to the Shodai Hokage, he wanted to know about it!

The Sandaime reached out and placed a hand on their shoulders, and then all three disappeared in a blur.

They reappeared inside the Hokage's mansion, in the Sandaime's office, to be exact. The walls were lined with scrolls, showing that that was all the Sandaime did in this office, work on all manner of Ninjutsu.

"Sit down," the Sandaime said, gesturing for four cushions on the floor. He sat down on one of them with the usual old person-groan, and Naruto and Sasuke sat down as well, watching him eagerly. The Sandaime's gentle, grandfatherly look was replaced by a stern and serious one. "Now, Naruto-kun, I want you to remember that this is very sensitive information, and that your parents, grandparents, great grandparents, and even your great-great grandparents had enemies that would love to kill you simply out of spite. Therefore, I would like you two to keep this information to yourselves, until I deem you strong enough to protect yourself. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Jiji!" Naruto said, and Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"Very well. Your mother, Naruto-kun, was Uzumaki Kushina, a member of the great Uzumaki clan of Uzushiogakure no Sato, a now destroyed village situated on an island to the east of Fire Country. This clan was known for their great proficiency with sealing techniques, and their longevity. She was an amazingly strong woman, and very hot-tempered." The Sandaime paused for a moment, and then gave a small chuckle. "In her youth, she was teased in the ninja academy because of her round face and red hair. The children took to calling her Tomato."

Naruto gave an audible snort, and Sasuke had to suppress a smirk, knowing that was the kind of name Naruto would have come up with for someone like that. The Sandaime hummed and put a hand on his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully.

"Of course, that all changed when she started pummeling those who teased her, prompting the children to call her the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero."

Naruto tensed, and Sasuke knew his friend well enough to know that Naruto had suddenly decided _not_ to go name-calling anymore, unless the name-callee actually deserved it.

"Well, what about my dad?" Naruto asked, shaking off the horrible thought of being pummeled by an angry redhead. "Was he a super cool ninja, or something?"

"Oh, he was super cool, alright," the Sandaime said with a nod. "Your father... Your father is the main reason why your true heritage was kept hidden from you. In the last Great Shinobi War, he made a great enemy out of Iwa. He was the man who would one day rise to become the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, Namikaze Minato."

Sasuke felt his jaw muscles slacken, and his jaw dropped in shock. Glancing to his right, he saw that Naruto had the same reaction, staring at the Sandaime in open shock.

"M-My... My old man was...?"

"That's right, Naruto-kun, your father was the Yondaime Hokage, who I now suspect to have been adopted. I believe he may have actually been Tsunade's biological son. The reason why I haven't told you, or anyone else, about this... is that you are, I'm sorry for saying this, a loudmouth, Naruto-kun."

Sasuke couldn't suppress a smirk at seeing Naruto twitch in indignation at hearing that.

"Naruto-kun, if I had told you, then you would have screamed it out to whoever would listen at every chance you had. This would have been brought to Iwa's attention, and they may have tried to kidnap you."

"Tch..." Naruto crossed his arms and pouted. "I suppose..."

"However, I didn't want to keep it from you any longer. Now, you are going to need training. There is a man here in Konoha who is quite proficient at using Mokuton Ninjutsu. And no, Naruto-kun, he is not a Senju," the Sandaime added at seeing Naruto's face brightening. "He was experimented on at a young age, and had Shodai-sama's genes implanted in him by a criminal of this village. He is currently serving in the ANBU forces, but I'm going to recall him to be your instructor when it comes to Mokuton Ninjutsu."

Naruto grinned widely at that.

"Thanks a lot, Jiji!" he exclaimed, then turned to Sasuke. "Let's both become super powerful, yeah?"

"Heh..." Sasuke scoffed, smirking. "As if I'd let you become stronger than me, you fool..."

The Sandaime stared intently at the two children for a while. Then, his eyes closed as he gave a bright smile, chuckling softly. Naruto twitched, and a disgusted look appeared on his face.

"Oi, Jiji... Why are you smiling like that? Are you a pedophile?"

It was the Sandaime's turn to twitch.

"NARUTO!"

–

**So, what did you think? Personally, I thought this was pretty well done. Usually, I would have just jumped straight into the action, but I felt I needed to show Naruto and Sasuke growing up a bit. In the next chapter, we'll start on graduation day! Until then, peace out!**

**ZnK**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, since I received a pretty good response from the first chapter, here's the second one! I hope you all enjoy, and remember to leave a review on your way out! Today is graduation day, followed by a Genin test!**

–

"Today's the day, eh?"

"Hn."

Naruto and Sasuke were heading for the Ninja Academy. Four and a half years had passed since that day when they discovered Naruto's heritage, and everything had been proceeding according to plan. Naruto and Sasuke spent every day studying or training, or both. However, because of how the teams were sorted, Naruto had stuck with the plan and pretended to be a nobody in class, getting barely passing grades.

It had been difficult, though, to get worse grades than Nara Shikamaru. That boy was a genius, but too lazy to lift a pen. Therefore, his grades should have been the poorest, but since they were the same as Naruto's, the blond had to take drastic measures by adding poor attendance to the list. This had earned him the position of dead last.

The two were dressed sharply enough, Naruto wearing a pair of black sandals, black ninja pants with a shuriken holster and a kunai holster strapped to his right leg, and a loose, long-sleeved, black ninja shirt that had been rolled up to just below his elbows, revealing the sleeves of the mesh shirt he wore underneath. Under the shirt, which had a fur collar much like that of the venerable Nidaime Hokage, over the mesh, Naruto wore plate armor. He also had two kunai pouches behind his back, and a black, three-inch wide bracelet on each wrist.

Sasuke wore black sandals, black ninja pants with two shuriken holsters on his right leg, a black muscleshirt over a mesh shirt, under plate armor, which was hidden by a black, long-sleeved shirt complete with the trademark high collar of the Uchiha, and the Uchiha clan crest on the back. He had only one kunai pouch, which was on the left side of his back, as a black chokuto was tucked into his red obi behind his back on his right side. He had identical bracelets on his own wrists.

"My awesome score in the upcoming exam won't change my overall grade, will it?" Naruto asked curiously, and Sasuke shook his head.

"No, the exam is just to show that you can do what they want you to do," the Uchiha said. His voice was warmer than it had once been, but it was only like that when he was talking to Naruto, or whoever else he felt had earned his respect, such as the Sandaime Hokage, and Naruto's teacher, who went by the codename Yamato.

"Heh, then it'll be good to show these punks how good I really am!" Naruto said, punching his fist into his open palm. Of course, most of the academy already knew how strong he really was. After all, Sasuke's fangirls had spied on a lot of their lighter training sessions, and even then it was intense, and since Naruto could easily keep up with Sasuke, they had figured out that he was just acting in class, and had naturally spread the word.

Sasuke blinked once and looked at Naruto.

"Who is it this time?"

"I'm not molding chakra right now," Naruto said, crossing his arms. "So I haven't the slightest."

"Then mold some?"

Naruto's left eyebrow slowly rose, and he turned his head to look at Sasuke, who sighed.

"_Please_ mold some?"

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes, activating his keen chakra sensing abilities. He located all five people who were following them, and identified their chakra signatures.

"The usual fangirls on our six, and on the rooftop at four o'clock is Hinata."

"Hinata? Haven't had her following us around for about a week," Sasuke commented.

It was widely known that Hinata was probably the only girl in the academy who wasn't a fangirl. Instead, she was an admirer. She didn't admire Sasuke, however, but instead it was Naruto who she focused her attention on. She had told Kiba, who had told Shikamaru, who had told Ino, who had told Sasuke that she admired Naruto for his determination and will to never give up, even when looked down upon by the general populace of the village. She greatly admired his character, but was too shy to talk to him.

"Still suck at the Bunshin, though..." Naruto muttered, bringing the topic back to the exam. "Dunno how I'm gonna pull that one off."

"Way ahead of you," Sasuke said confidently. "Don't worry, you'll pass with flying colors. The Hokage said that the Bunshin is the most basic of clones, and that's the minimum requirement for graduating."

Sasuke didn't need to say anything else, as Naruto made the realization right away.

"Aah, so any clone will do. I'll avoid the Moku Bunshin (Wood Clone), and just go with the Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone). Don't want to reveal my special skills too quickly."

And so, there they stood, in the Ninja Academy. Or rather, they were outside. Currently, they were doing the physical portion of the exam. Needless to say, Naruto shocked the hell out of Iruka when he aced the kunai and shuriken throwing, beat everyone in the stamina portion, and fought Sasuke to a standstill in a spar.

Naruto even did well in Genjutsu, even though it wasn't his area of expertise. Despite his terrible skill with them, compared to his Nin- and Taijutsu, he could still cast Genjutsu that were above average in power, not something just anyone could do, and he could identify and cancel them no problem.

Next came the Ninjutsu portion. Naruto was almost disappointed with the fact that only a Henge, Bunshin, and a Kawarimi needed to be performed to pass.

"Alright, Naruto, just create two fully functional Bunshin, and you'll pass," Iruka said, looking very pleasantly surprised at Naruto's performance. Naruto nodded and put his hands in a cross seal. Without speaking the words, he created two Kage Bunshin, which made the Chuunin teacher's eyes widen in surprise.

"These are... Kage Bunshin!"

"The Jiji says that my chakra stores are too big for me to create a normal Bunshin," Naruto said with a shrug.

"W-Well, you pass, Naruto. Congratulations!" Iruka said, picking up one of the hitai-ate on the table in front of him and handing it to Naruto, who shook his head.

"It's cool, I've got my own," he said and reached into his kunai pouch, taking out a scroll and opening it. He placed his hand on a seal in the scroll, and in a poof of smoke, a gray happuri with the Konoha symbol engraved on the forehead appeared, landing in Naruto's hand. It was old and scratched here and there, and Iruka's eyes widened.

"N-Naruto, is that...?"

"The Nidaime's happuri," Naruto said with a nod as he put the scroll in his kunai pouch again, before putting on the happuri. "Yeah, the Jiji gave it to me. Well, later, sensei!"

With that, Naruto left the classroom, finding Sasuke waiting for him outside, already wearing his hitai-ate. They didn't need to speak. Instead, Naruto just grinned and pointed with his thumb up at his happuri.

"Big surprise there," Sasuke said, looking bored. "So, do we eat and then train, or do we train and then eat?"

"Let's go eat first, yeah? Celebrate our graduation," Naruto said, still grinning as he and Sasuke walked off.

–

"Starting today, all of you are real shinobi!" Iruka said happily to the gathered graduates the next day, smiling proudly. "But you are still Genin. The hard journey that lies ahead has just started. Now you will soon get missions to help the village. So today, we will create the three-man teams, and each of you will have a Jounin sensei. You will follow your sensei's instructions in order to successfully complete your missions. Now, we tried to balance each team's strength," the Chuunin said as he looked down at the clipboard in his hand. "Alright, Team One..."

Naruto, who was sitting next to Sasuke, nudged his best friend with his elbow.

"Hey, did you find out which girl got the highest score?"

"I think Hinata and Sakura were at the top," Sasuke said quietly, staring out the window. "I couldn't find out which one, though. I hope it's Hinata. It'd be nice to have the girl of the team fawning over someone other than me."

"If it is Hinata, we're going to have to do something about her shyness."

"Agreed."

"Okay, next is Team Seven... Hyuuga Hinata... Uzumaki Naruto... and Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto and Sasuke both got identical smirks on their faces and gave each other a high-five. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw that Hinata had gone beet-red in her seat, her eyes wide as saucers.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei," Shikamaru spoke up, sounding bored as usual. "Aren't the teams supposed to be balanced? Why are you placing the three strongest on the same team?"

"Because, Shikamaru, though it's widely known that Naruto is as strong as Sasuke, we selected the teams based on grades, and Naruto came in dead last. I believe the two knew about how the teams would be decided, after all."

The smirks on Naruto and Sasuke's faces said it all.

"Alright, next is Team Eight, which will consist of Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino," Iruka said, continuing to read from his clipboard. "Team Nine is still in rotation from last year, and Team Ten will be Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji." He cleared his throat, then smiled. "Okay, this afternoon we'll introduce your Jounin sensei. Until then, take a break!"

"Hinata!" Naruto called as everyone rose from their seats. The Hyuuga heiress jumped at being addressed by her crush and spun to face him, completely red-faced still. "Sasuke and I are gonna grab some lunch, you wanna come?"

"I-I-I..." Hinata started poking her fingers together, ducking her head down, which made Naruto and Sasuke share a look with each other, eyebrows raised. "S-Sure, Naruto-kun..."

"Dango today, then?" Naruto asked Sasuke, who nodded as they walked up to Hinata. "Dango alright with you, Hinata?"

"I-It's fine..." Hinata muttered, still keeping her head down. Naruto looked to Sasuke, who shrugged.

The newly made Team Seven headed to a nearby dango shop, where Naruto and Sasuke each ordered ten sticks, and Hinata ordered five.

"You didn't pack lunch?" Naruto asked Hinata as they waited for their food. "Come to think of it, I've never seen you bring lunch."

"No, I... I go back home to... to eat lunch..." Hinata said quietly. "W-What about you two?"

"Sasuke prefers dango, but he can't make it, and me... well, the last time I tried cooking, Sasuke and I had to battle the ensuing creation to the death."

Hinata giggled at that, especially at the look on Sasuke's face when he thought back to the Monster Stew. A stew shouldn't have been able to grow tentacles, damn it!

"So, Hinata," Naruto said as their order arrived, watching as Hinata jumped at being addressed. "Why don't you give us a rundown of your abilities, eh? Sasuke and I know each other's skills well enough, but we have no idea about you."

"Oh, I... I'm kind of... weak..." Hinata mumbled shyly, ducking her head.

"Yeah, we don't buy that," Sasuke said simply. "If you were weak, you wouldn't have scored top of the class. How about we go first? Give small introductions?" he said, looking to Naruto for confirmation and getting a nod. "Alright, I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I specialize in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. My chakra control is excellent, and my strength is above average. I don't have the best stamina, but it's not lousy, either. My preferred jutsu are Katon jutsu."

"Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto said, raising his hand unnecessarily in greeting. "I specialize in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. I'm also a very accomplished sensor. My chakra control is good, but could be better, and my strength is amazing! I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I get by, my stamina is monstrous, and my preferred jutsu are Doton and Suiton jutsu, and... the secret type."

"S-Secret type?" Hinata asked, blinking at the grin on Naruto's face.

"To be revealed at a later date," Naruto said, nodding. "Now you."

"U-Um... I'm Hyuuga Hinata. I... I guess I specialize in Taijutsu... My Byakugan makes me a good sensor, I suppose... My chakra control is excellent, like Sasuke-kun's, but I'm kind of weak physically... My stamina... is also not that great... M-My preferred jutsu are my clan jutsu..."

"So, only one of us has any focus on Genjutsu," Sasuke said, crossing his arms and closing his eyes in thought. "I know you have a pretty low opinion of yourself, Hinata, but I need you to think carefully about your skills. Do you have anything else that could contribute?"

"W-Well... I do make... my own medicine..."

"Alright, that's great!" Naruto said with a bright grin. "So you'll act as our support, and can also patch up Sasuke and me when we rush into battle headfirst, yeah?"

"Sasuke _and I_," Sasuke corrected, which got him a glare from Naruto.

"Shaddap, you know-it-all!"

Hinata giggled softly at their antics, and even more so during their meal, when Naruto demonstrated his four-in-one technique, where he tilted his head back and put an entire dango stick down his throat like a sword swallower, chomped his teeth down on it, and pulled it out, clean, and swallowing the dumplings whole.

"Ugh..." Naruto muttered afterward, clutching his stomach. "Those always feel too big going down... It's like they swell to twice their size as soon as I swallow them..."

Sasuke chuckled softly, while Hinata giggled.

When the food had been devoured, the trio got up and headed back to the academy, where they waited...

And waited...

And waited...

"Naruto?" Sasuke said after two hours of waiting. The blond was sitting at his desk, his eyes closed.

"Someone's finally approaching," Naruto said grumpily. "Damn bastard, making us wait... Way to make a first impression..."

The door opened, revealing a man wearing the traditional Jounin uniform, along with a mask that covered the lower half of his face, and a headband that was pulled down to cover his left eye. His hair, gray, looked as though it was defying gravity. He raised a gloved hand in greeting.

"Yo, boys and girl. I'll be your Jounin sensei," he spoke lazily, then looked around in thought. "Hm... This place is a bit stuffy... Let's go up to the roof, yeah?"

With that, he left the classroom, and Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata, looking at each other strangely, shrugged and followed him up to the roof, where they sat down in front of the man, who was leaning back against the railing.

"Well, let's begin with introducing ourselves," the man said, his arms crossed.

"Um... What do you... want to know, sensei?" Hinata asked softly.

"How about your likes, dislikes, your dreams for the future, and things like that?" the Jounin said with a shrug.

"How about you go first?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, you look... very suspicious..." Naruto muttered, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh, me? Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future... hm... and I have lots of hobbies..."

All three members of Team Seven sweatdropped at the lame introduction. Kakashi was unperturbed, however, and just smiled and pointed at Naruto.

"Alright, now it's your turn. Start from the right."

"Uzumaki Naruto, as everyone knows," Naruto said, saluting Kakashi. "I like training, the few friends I have, nature, and meditating. I don't like idiots or warmongers. As for my hobbies... Well, my only hobby is training, I guess... And my dream is to become Hokage, and surpass all my predecessors!"

"Good, good. Next."

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like training, swords, and meditating. My dislikes mostly consist of idiots and a certain man... My hobby is training, and my dream... I don't really have dreams, but rather goals. The resurrection of the Uchiha Clan, to kill that certain man, and to become Hokage."

"Though that last one is gonna have to remain a dream," Naruto supplied with a grin, while Sasuke gave a scoff of amusement.

Kakashi was staring at the two of them with something akin to warmth in his eye. 'To think that those two would become friends... I think this will be good for them,' he thought, then looked at Hinata. "Okay, you're last."

"U-Um... My name is... Hyuuga Hinata... I like zenzai and cinnamon rolls... and..." Hinata stopped and blushed hard. She shook her head, deciding to leave that last part out. "I-I dislike those who... who look down on others... My hobby is pressing flowers... And my dream is... to become a Hyuuga worthy of being the head of the clan, and to abolish the Caged Bird Seal from the Branch Family."

Kakashi hummed softly as he looked over his three Genin. Then, he nodded. "Okay! That's it for the introductions. Tomorrow, we'll start our duties as shinobi! First of all, we're going to do something with just the four of us."

"W-What is it, Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata asked softly.

"Survival training," Kakashi said seriously.

"Survival training?" Sasuke repeated curiously. "We did enough of that in the academy."

"This isn't a normal training. This time, I'm your opponent," Kakashi said, making everyone's eyes widen. He chuckled softly.

"What's so funny?" Naruto asked with a slight glare, still a little ticked that they found out nothing about the man.

"Oh, well, it's just that when I tell you this, you guys are going to freak out."

"Just spit it out, damn it, don't keep us in suspense."

"Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be chosen to become Genin. The rest will be sent back to the academy. This training is a very difficult exam with a failure rate of over sixty-six percent!"

Everyone's eyes went even wider than before at that, and Kakashi just laughed and pointed at them.

"I told you you'd freak out!"

"Then what the hell was graduation for?" Naruto growled out.

"Oh, that? That was just to select those who have the _potential_ to become Genin. It takes more than a couple of jutsu to become one, after all," Kakashi said. "Anyway, tomorrow you have to show your real skills on the training ground. Bring all the shinobi tools you have. Oh, and skip breakfast, or you might throw up." As his Genin once more went wide-eyed, Kakashi took three pieces of paper out of his kunai pouch and held them out to them. "The details are on this paper. And don't be late tomorrow."

–

"Good morning, everyone!" Naruto said happily as the three Genin met in training area seven the next day. None of them looked tired, which was good, and none of them looked hungry, either, which was better. As Sasuke had said earlier, it was better to throw up than fight on an empty stomach.

"I'm guessing our sensei is going to be late again," Sasuke said, his hands in his pockets. Hinata nodded.

"I detect a pattern emerging..." she mumbled softly.

"Well, better make good use of the time we have," Naruto said as he sat down in the lotus position, his eyes drifting shut. "I'll keep a lookout for him, and Sasuke, you come up with some good battle plans."

Sasuke nodded and sat down, humming.

"Alright... Hinata, you are proficient in the Juuken (Gentle Fist), right?"

"I-I'm not as good as my father, or my sister, but... I guess..."

Sasuke was quiet for a moment, his eyes still closed. Then, he spoke up, "Alright, listen up. I'm sure we're all very strong, but none of us can win against a Jounin alone. Therefore, we're going to have to work together if we want to beat him. If it comes down to a fight, which it most likely will, Naruto will be acting as support."

"N-Naruto-kun will...?" Hinata asked, blinking. "But... I thought you said... I would be support?"

"I did say that, but Naruto has special jutsu in this case perfect for distracting and capturing Kakashi from a distance. While Naruto is distracting him, you and I will come at him in Taijutsu. I'll go high, you go low. If you can, target his nuts."

Naruto gave an audible snort at that and opened his eyes to see Hinata turning beet-red again.

"Wow, that's kinda cruel, Sasuke," Naruto said in amusement. "Are you sure you want to put Kakashi-teme through that?"

"Punishment for being late," Sasuke said simply. "I do, of course, have other plans as well. I want you to memorize them perfectly. Now, Plan B..."

They waited for another two hours, before Kakashi finally arrived, and he had the audacity to wave happily at them as if he was right on time.

"Good morning, everyone!"

"You're late, teme!" Naruto exclaimed angrily. "Isn't that unbecoming of a Jounin?"

"Ah, so sorry... See, a black cat crossed my path, and-"

"Stop lying, you're wasting our time," Sasuke said coldly, his arms crossed, which made Kakashi sweatdrop.

'How serious...' he thought with a sigh. He took off his backpack and set it down next to the three wooden poles in the clearing, before fishing out an alarm clock and setting it down on the pole. "Okay, it's set for noon," he announced, taking two bells out of his kunai pouch and holding them out. "Here are two bells. Your task is to take these from me before the time's up. Those who don't have a bell by noon gets no lunch. I'll not only tie you to one of those stumps, but I'll also eat right in front of you."

Kakashi didn't see the hungry, devastated faces he had been expecting to see. Instead, the two boys of the group were glaring at him, and the girl was staring shyly at the ground. Kakashi blinked slowly, but then shook his head and continued.

"You only have to get one bell. There are only two, so one of you will definitely be tied to the stump. And... the person who doesn't take a bell fails. So at least one of you will be sent back to the academy," Kakashi said, smirking at the shocked looks on their faces. "If you want, you can use your weapons. You won't succeed if you don't come at me with the intent to kill. Any questions?" Not getting any questions, Kakashi nodded and took a deep breath, his eye closed. "Alright, then... begin!"

With that, all four of them dashed off.

"Tch..." Naruto uttered as he hid in a tree, a disgusted look on his face. "Pitting his students against not only himself, but each other as well..."

"Yeah..." came Sasuke's voice from behind him as his friend landed on the same branch. "This guy's something else. And from what the rumor mill says, he's not someone to toy with, either. So, what do you think?"

"I think the same thing you do," Naruto said, as though it was obvious. "Neither of us wants to be sent back to the academy, but it'd be a shitty thing for us to do to team up and let Hinata fend for herself. Besides, she's probably the only girl I can stand..."

"So, we can either have one of us go back to the academy, or Hinata..." Sasuke muttered, a smirk appearing on his face. "That Kakashi-yaro... That kind of guy just pisses me off..."

"So, what do we do?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms.

"I say we figure out a way to get all three to pass," Sasuke said, his smirk widening.

"And how do we do that?"

"We steal everything he has."

If Kakashi had seen the duo, he would have become very scared upon seeing the identical smirks on their faces.

Meanwhile, Hinata was hiding behind a tree, her eyes closed. She was feeling devastated. Only two may pass, and everyone knew that Naruto and Sasuke were the best of friends, so there was little doubt that they would team up to defeat Kakashi, leaving Hinata to herself.

Hinata couldn't help but feel so disappointed. She had finally done it. She had finally managed to end up on the same team as Naruto, and now they were going to be separated? It just wasn't fair!

"Yo."

Hinata would have eeped in fright, had a hand not suddenly covered her mouth as she jumped. She looked over her shoulder to see that it was Naruto standing behind her and covering her mouth.

Naruto... was touching her...

Naruto let out a "Huh?" when he saw Hinata's eyes get unfocused as her face once more went beet-red. Thankfully, though, she managed to keep from passing out, as Naruto let go of her.

"Anyway, Hinata, Sasuke's already in position for Plan F," Naruto said, jutting his thumb over his shoulder. "You better get ready too."

"B-But..." Hinata blinked in confusion. "T-There are only two bells... Naruto-kun, you should-"

"Now, now, we're a team now," Naruto said, grinning slightly. "Sasuke and I wouldn't feel right leaving you behind, so we're doing this as a team. Besides, we'll be stealing more than just the bells from that Kakashi-yaro. We'll be stealing enough to pass eighteen Genin."

Naruto winked at Hinata, then jumped off to get in position.

In the meantime, Kakashi was standing in a clearing near the river running through training area seven, looking around and stretching his senses. His sense of smell could easily detect his students, and he could sense their chakra as well.

'Hm... They've hidden themselves well. The most important thing for a shinobi is to be able to hide themselves, after all. They could probably hide from a Chuunin at this level. Wait...'

Kakashi blinked as he focused on Sasuke's chakra signature. Then, his eyes widened when he felt that it was really Naruto's. Had he created a clone and manipulated his chakra to feel like Sasuke's?

The soft thump of a sandal landing on the dirt was all the warning Kakashi got, before he had to duck under a swing from Sasuke's chokuto. The Uchiha kept spinning and aimed a kick at Kakashi's head, forcing the Jounin to leap away.

More footsteps were heard behind him, and Kakashi leapt away yet again to avoid a Juuken strike from Hinata. All three had teamed up so soon? He honestly hadn't been expecting that.

Both Genin charged at Kakashi, who dodged and dodged. Sasuke swung high with his chokuto, and Hinata went after his abdomen with her Juuken, forcing him to lean and twist without pause in order to avoid being hit. Considering they focused on only Taijutsu and Kenjutsu, He felt it would be unfair at this point to use Ninjutsu. After all, this was partly to test their abilities.

"Now, Naruto!" Sasuke called suddenly, and Kakashi's eye widened. The only warning he got was a slight rumbling in the ground, before wooden poles shot out of it, wrapping around his arms and legs.

"What?!" Kakashi exclaimed, his eye wide. He didn't have time to think about it, however, as Hinata reached him just then, and slammed her chakra-laced palm into his chest...

...only for Kakashi to disappear in a poof of smoke, replaced by a log.

"Kawarimi..." Sasuke muttered with a scoff. "He can't have gone far."

Indeed he hadn't, as just then, Kakashi blurred into view behind Naruto, who was hiding behind a pair of bushes, a kunai at his throat. Naruto's hands were in a Snake seal, and Kakashi smiled at the blond.

"Oho, Mokuton Ninjutsu, huh? Haven't seen that for a while. However, this is the end for you, Naruto."

"Really?" Naruto asked with a smirk. In a flash, his hand was planted on the ground, and Kakashi only had a millisecond to react before a wooden spike burst out of the ground beneath him, forcing him to leap into the clearing again.

He wasn't given any breathing room, as Hinata was on him in an instant. She didn't strike as fiercely or quickly as some of the Hyuuga Kakashi had sparred with in the past, but she was impressive nonetheless. However, he had no trouble keeping up.

As he stepped back to avoid another strike, Kakashi noticed out of the corner of his eye how Sasuke had just finished a string of handseals.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Element: Grand Fireball Technique)!"

Sasuke brought his hand to his mouth and unleashed a massive fireball, sending it hurling at Kakashi and Hinata, the Jounin going wide-eyed.

'Goukakyuu? Impossible! A Genin shouldn't have that much chakra! And he's aiming for Hinata as well!'

Evidently, Sasuke had been confident that Hinata wouldn't be hurt, and so was Hinata, apparently, as she looked quite calm. Suddenly, wood burst from the ground and enveloped Hinata in a protective wooden dome just as the fire reached them.

Kakashi jumped into the air to avoid the fireball, which smashed into the wooden dome and exploded. More wooden poles burst from the ground and shot up at Kakashi, wrapping around his wrists and ankles, before forcefully yanking him down to the ground.

Kakashi slammed hard into the ground on his back and grunted. Sure, he hadn't even used half his power in this spar, but still... These kids were already Chuunin level!

He was brought out of his musings as his three Genin came walking up to him, staring down at the pinned Jounin. Then, Naruto knelt next to him and grabbed the bells, tossing them to Sasuke, who gave one to Hinata.

"That's some self-sacrificing you're showing there, Naruto," Kakashi spoke calmly, despite the situation he was in. "Are you sure you want to be sent back to the Academy?"

"I won't be sent back," Naruto said with a grin as he grabbed Kakashi's kunai pouch and removed it from his person, opening it and rummaging through it. "Either all of us pass, or no one. So, I'm going to see if you have anything worth threatening in order to pass us..."

Kakashi's eye widened to the size of a saucer when he saw Naruto fish out his precious book, Icha Icha Paradise. Naruto must have caught his reaction, because his grin widened as he wiggled it at Sasuke.

"Look, Sasuke, our new teacher likes reading dirty books. How about you set it on fire, yeah?"

"That sounds like an amazing idea, Naruto," Sasuke said, a cruel smirk on his face.

"You can't do that!" Kakashi exclaimed. "Fine, fine, you all pass! Now let me go and give me my book!"

"Heh," Naruto uttered as he put the book back in the kunai pouch and dropped it onto Kakashi's stomach, before putting his hand in a half-Ram seal. The wood holding Kakashi loosened and sank back into the earth, allowing Kakashi to sit up.

"Well, you would have passed anyway," Kakashi said as he stood up, refastening his kunai pouch. "This test was designed to see if you could figure out the hidden meaning behind it."

"Hidden meaning?" Hinata mumbled, and Sasuke hummed, crossing his arms.

"You pitted the three of us against not only you, but each other as well... There was no way we were going to get a bell on our own, so we _had_ to team up... So... self-sacrifice?"

"That's right," Kakashi said with a nod. "The hidden answer to this test is teamwork. I wanted to see if you could work together as a team, and I wanted to see if one of you would be willing to sacrifice themselves for the others. While that didn't work out quite as I had planned, you got the gist of it. Duties are done by the team. Of course, individual strength is also important to a ninja, but what's even more important is teamwork."

Kakashi looked over his three Genin, and a bright smile appeared on his face.

"Naruto, Sasuke, even if you two are best friends, you still didn't leave Hinata behind in order to get the bells for yourselves. That shows that you have character, compassion, honor... You will be risking your lives in these duties. If a hostage is taken, you will have tough choices to make, and you may not always make the right one..."

Kakashi sighed and gestured for them to follow him as he walked over to where the poles were, behind which was a large stone with hundreds of names carved into it.

"Look at this, the numerous names carved on this stone. These are ninjas who are recognized as heroes of the village," Kakashi said, staring softly at the stone. "But... they aren't just normal heroes..."

"Why do I get the feeling you're about to say something depressing?" Naruto muttered.

"These ninjas are all heroes who died on duty," Kakashi explained. "This is a memorial. My best friend's name is also carved here... You guys are the first team I've ever passed. Everyone else would just do whatever I told them. They were all just morons, who only thought about themselves, and about doing what I ordered. A ninja must see underneath the underneath. Those who break the rules and codes of the ninja world are called trash... but, you know what? Those who don't take care of their comrades are lower than trash. I want you all to remember that."

"Tch..." Sasuke muttered. "Here I thought I had you figured out, then you go say something cool like that..."

Kakashi smiled brightly and flashed them a thumbs up. "That ends the training. All of you pass! Okay, starting tomorrow, Team Seven will begin its duties!"

"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed with a wide grin, pumping his fist into the air. "My climb to the top starts here!"

–

**So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Remember what I said up there, leave a review on your way out!**

**Peace,**

**ZnK**


	3. Chapter 3

**Third chapter is out! In this chapter, the Wave Mission starts! Hope you all enjoy it! Even if only slightly.**

–

"Aaah, my precious Tora-chan! I missed you so much!" the wife of the Fire Daimyou, Madam Shijimi, yelled out as she hugged her cat tightly in the Missions Office, despite the cat looking like it was choking to death. "You had me so worried, my little baby!"

"No wonder it ran away..." Naruto muttered, three scratches across the bridge of his nose, and many more on his hands. Sasuke had three on his cheek, three on his neck, and about as many on his hands as Naruto. "I would, too."

"Hn..."

"Kind of makes you pity it..." Hinata mumbled softly, having no scratches on her.

"Now... Kakashi's Team Seven," the Sandaime said as he was looking over the documents in front of him, "your next duty is... hm... babysitting an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighboring village, and help with the potato digging... You can also-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Jiji," Naruto said suddenly. Everyone save for his team stared at him in utter shock for daring to interrupt the Hokage. "You and I both know that this team is stronger than any Genin team you have! We shouldn't be doing this crap!"

"I agree," Sasuke said, crossing his arms. "I think this is an incredible waste of valuable resources."

After all, besides team training, coming up with strategies and combinations, all they had been doing since graduating was D-ranked missions.

"You idiots!" Iruka barked, sitting next to the Sandaime, who just sighed. "You are just rookies! Everyone starts off with the simple duties and work their way up!"

"I don't give a crap! We're not everyone!" Naruto barked back. "We get these crap missions I wouldn't even force academy students to do! This is not ninja work!"

Suddenly, Kakashi's fist bopped Naruto on the head, accompanied by the Jounin saying, "Quiet, you..."

"Naruto-kun, it seems I have to explain to you what these duties are all about," the Sandaime said, puffing on his pipe. "Listen, every day-"

"We get all kinds of requests from people, ranging from babysitting to assassination, we rank the missions, and blah, blah, blah," Naruto said, his arms crossed. "But you've told us that Genin get both D- _and_ C-ranked missions! I know we're fresh out of the academy, but you know as well as I do that we can handle a C-rank. Right, Sasuke, Hinata?"

"Hn."

"I-I think so..."

"I apologize..." Kakashi mumbled, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. The Sandaime, however, looked thoughtful and hummed while puffing on his pipe. He interlaced his fingers in front of his face and smirked.

"Very well. If you want it that much, I'll give you a C-rank, and we'll see how you do. It's a protection mission of a certain individual," the Sandaime announced, which visibly surprised Kakashi and Hinata, while Naruto and Sasuke smirked. "I'll introduce the client now. Hey! Will you come in here?"

The door to the Mission Office slid open, revealing an old man who, judging by the scars on his hands, must have been a carpenter or something like that. In his hand was a sake bottle, and he took a swig from it as he looked them over.

"What's this? They're all a bunch of super brats," the man said, a drunken blush on his face. "Especially the girl. She looks like she couldn't hurt a fly. Are you really a ninja?"

Hinata flinched and ducked her head. Seeing that she wasn't about to give a retort, Naruto and Sasuke came to her defense, glaring heatedly at him.

"Could kill you five times over before you could even blink, you old fart," Sasuke said coldly, and Naruto looked at Kakashi.

"Sensei, can I show him?"

"Killing the person we're supposed to protect would cause us to fail the mission," Kakashi said simply, but Naruto didn't need to show him. They'd gotten their point across, judging by how the old man barely suppressed a flinch. He coughed into his fist.

"Anyway, I am the super bridge builder, Tazuna. I expect you to provide me super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge."

And so, later found Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata walked toward the east Konoha gate, packed and ready. Naruto and Sasuke had everything in a scroll each, and Naruto had sealed Hinata's pack into another one, so she didn't have to carry anything.

"This is a C-rank, so the worst we might face is bandits," Sasuke said as they walked. "However, I want none of you to let down your guard. Keep your senses sharp for anything out of the norm. Hinata."

Hinata jumped at being addressed directly, and quickly answered with a, "Y-Yes?"

"During our journey to Wave Country, I want you to activate your Byakugan at regular intervals and scout the surrounding area."

"A-Alright..."

"Naruto."

"Hm?" Naruto uttered, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't want you to go lazy and stop molding chakra. I want you sensing the entire time. Your sensing ability is the best I've ever seen, and it doesn't eat more chakra than it takes for you to regenerate, so you can't complain about that. Don't slack off, keep sensing."

"Yeah, yeah... Tch, you've taken some kind of captain position, or something? Getting a bit ahead of yourself, are you, Sasuke-kun?"

"The Hokage is the leader of the village. I need training," Sasuke said simply, which made Naruto twitch.

"Yeah, right! The one who's gonna be Hokage is me!"

"Heh, in your dreams, maybe."

"Why you...!"

"I-I think you both have good chances of... becoming Hokage..." Hinata mumbled softly, which caused the two Genin to stop glaring at each other, instead turning their heads to look at her. Hinata looked a bit startled to be getting so much attention, but gulped and continued. "Y-You both have such strength, despite your young age... and you both have your unique sets of leadership skills... S-Sasuke-kun... I think Naruto-kun has... has just as good a chance to become Hokage... as you..."

Hinata, finished now, ducked her head, as though expecting Sasuke to react unfavorably to what she had just said. Therefore, he no doubt surprised her when he just gave a soft laugh of amusement.

"Of course," he said, crossing his arms. "He wouldn't be worthy of being my rival if he couldn't keep up with me, after all."

"But thanks for those kind words, Hinata," Naruto said with a grin, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "Seriously, though, we need to do something about this shyness of yours, don't you think?"

"I-I'm not... shy..." Hinata mumbled, beet-red at having Naruto touching her. "I just... I..."

"Aaah, you're gonna try to convince me that fish can fly, too?" Naruto said, still grinning widely. He flashed her a thumbs up. "Don't worry, though. Stick with us, and in a couple of weeks, you'll either be a happy-go-lucky jokester like me, or a cool, brooding type like Sasuke! Go with the jokester path, though. One Sasuke is enough."

"Oi, are you saying I'm annoying?" Sasuke asked with a slight glare.

"Oho, not at all, Sasuke-kun! Funny how you would jump to that conclusion, though."

"Why, you..."

Hinata giggled softly at their antics, which made Naruto grin wider.

They rendezvoused with Kakashi and Tazuna at the gate, and then set off toward Wave Country. As Sasuke had suggested, Naruto started molding chakra and spread out his senses the second they left Konoha, and it was a good thing he did, because he immediately picked up on two chakra sources in the trees to their left. He glanced at Sasuke, who caught his eye. They had long since reached the point where they could tell what the other was trying to tell them from simply looking into each others' eyes. Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly, and he gave a small, barely noticeable nod, before moving over to Hinata.

"Hinata, don't use your Byakugan," he whispered so quietly that no even Kakashi would be able to hear them. "We have a tail, and we don't want to spook them."

"Understood," Hinata whispered back. Sasuke was shocked to have seen her turn so serious, not at all her usual, shy self. No, he did see that she was the same, but she forced those traits back through sheer force of will. She looked at Tazuna. "U-Um... Tazuna-san?"

"What?"

"You are... from Wave Country, right?"

"What about it?"

"Do you have a ninja village?"

It was Kakashi who answered, "No, not in Wave Country. Most other countries have them, but Wave Country is a bit too small for it. Heh, don't worry, though. These won't be any ninja combat in a C-rank mission."

Sasuke pushed chakra into his eyes as they passed a puddle in the road, then turned to look at Naruto, who nodded back at him as they kept walking, Kakashi bringing up the rear.

Suddenly, a ninja with a horned Kiri headband came flying over Kakashi, a bladed chain connected to his clawed gauntlet. He landed between Kakashi and the Genin and Tazuna as the chain wrapped around the Jounin, tightening. Behind Kakashi stood another Kiri ninja with an identical gauntlet on his hand, which the chain was connected to.

"What?!" Kakashi uttered as the two ninja both said, "One down!" and pulled the chain.

Kakashi was torn to pieces by the chain, making Tazuna go wide-eyed, along with Hinata. Sasuke, Sharingan burning in his eyes, one tomoe in the left and two in the right, looked at her.

"Hinata, protect Tazuna!" he ordered, while Naruto was already flashing through handseals.

"Doton: Doryuudan (Earth Element: Earth Dragon Projectile)!" Naruto called out as a dragon head made of earth rose from the ground and turned to one of the Kiri ninja, opening its mouth and spitting high-velocity mud projectiles at him. The ninja jumped, while Sasuke also flashed through seals.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" he called out, spewing a massive ball of flame at the other ninja, who dodged, yanking the chain connecting the two, and in doing so pulling him out of the way of the mud projectiles. The fireball engulfed the chain, instantly melting it and separating the two ninja, who split off, circling around Naruto and Sasuke in order to head for Tazuna, which caused Hinata to stand protectively in front of him.

"Doton: Doryuu Heki (Earth Element: Earth Style Wall)!" Naruto called out after flashing through another chain of seals, slamming his hands down on the ground. One of the ninja, who was coming at Tazuna from behind, suddenly found himself stopped rather abruptly as he ran straight into the earth wall that shot up in front of him. As soon as his head bounced off the wall, Naruto put his hand in a Snake seal.

"Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu (Wood Element: Cutting Technique)!" Naruto called as a wooden blade sprouted from his hand. He spun and flung the blade at the dazed Kiri ninja, piercing him in the shoulder. "Gotcha!" Naruto proclaimed triumphantly, putting his hand in a half-Ram seal and focusing his chakra. "Sodatsu (Grow)!"

The Kiri ninja's eyes widened when the wood inside his body suddenly sprouted five thick spikes that extended to burst out of his body in a shower of blood, piercing many vital organs in the process.

Naruto's eyes widened at seeing an actual person be hit by that jutsu. Up until now, all he had practiced on was straw practice dummies... There was so much blood...

"Well done, Naruto," came Kakashi's voice, making him look toward Tazuna, to see that Sasuke had moved to stand protectively in front of Hinata, and Kakashi was standing in front of him, holding the other Kiri ninja (who was unconscious) in a headlock. "You guys reacted much better than I would have believed."

Kakashi made to turn to Tazuna, but he stopped and looked at Naruto, noticing that the blond's hands were shaking slightly.

'Well, it's to be expected. It was his first kill,' Kakashi thought, his gaze softening. 'But to do it at that age... I'll have to talk to him about it later...'

Kakashi turned to Tazuna and gave him a very serious look.

"Tazuna-san."

Tazuna visibly flinched. "Y-Yes?"

"I need to talk to you..."

Within moments, the Kiri ninja had been tied to a tree, and judging from the fact that he was glaring daggers at Naruto, he was awake.

"This guy is a Chuunin-rank ninja, one of the Demon Brothers of Kirigakure no Sato. They are ninjas known to keep fighting no matter what."

"How did you read our movements?" the Demon Brother asked Kakashi. "Not even your Genin were taken by surprise..."

"On a sunny day like this, when it hasn't rained in days, a water puddle shouldn't exist," Kakashi said simply. "Besides, Naruto is a very accomplished sensor. He no doubt detected you from the moment you started following us, and alerted his teammates."

"Why did you let the brats fight when you knew that?" Tazuna asked.

"If I had wanted to, I could have killed these two instantly, but... there was something I needed to find out... Who the target was for these two."

"What do you mean?" Tazuna asked.

"Meaning, were they after you, or one of us? We haven't heard that there are ninjas after you. Our mission was simply to protect you from thieves or gangs," Kakashi said, narrowing his eye at Tazuna. "This has now become at least a B-rank mission. This was supposed to be simple protection until you completed the bridge."

Tazuna was quiet, and a sweat drop was visibly rolling down his temple.

"If it was known that ninja were after you... this mission would have been an expensive B-rank. I'm sure you have a reason, but it causes problems when you lie about the mission details. We are now operating outside of our duties."

"Um... A-Are we ready for... for this type of mission?" Hinata asked, gulping.

"I suppose that, at this point, it would be customary for us to abandon the mission," Kakashi said slowly, nodding more to himself than to the others.

"Sensei..." Tazuna spoke up suddenly, catching Kakashi's attention. "I... have to talk to you... It's about this mission... You're right, this job is most likely outside of your duties. It turns out that a super dangerous man is after my life."

"Super dangerous man?" Kakashi repeated, raising his only visible eyebrow. "Who?"

"You've probably at least heard his name before," Tazuna said quietly. "The wealthy shipping magnate... a man named Gatou."

"Huh?! Gatou, from that Gatou Company?" Kakashi asked, his eye widening in surprise. "He's said to be one of the world's few extremely wealthy people."

"Yes... Officially, he runs a large shipping company," Tazuna said with a nod. "But, secretly, he sells drugs and other illegal items using ninja and gang members to take over businesses and countries. He's a super nasty man. It was about a year ago when he set his eyes on the Wave Country. Through money and violence, he quickly took control of the country's shipping industry. Gatou now has a monopoly on all business traffic in the country. The only thing he has to fear now is the completion of the bridge."

"And... because you are building the bridge to the mainland... he won't hold a monopoly anymore..." Hinata concluded, to which Tazuna nodded.

"So, those ninja were hired by Gatou?" Sasuke asked, and Tazuna nodded.

"But what I don't understand is... if you knew ninja could be after you, why did you hide that fact when you hired us?" Kakashi wanted to know.

Tazuna sighed. "The Wave Country is super poor. Even the Daimyo has no money. Of course, we don't have much money, either... Not enough for the expensive B-rank mission. Well... if you quit the mission now, I will definitely be killed... But... don't worry about it!" Tazuna said with a bright smile on his face. "If I die, my cute, ten-year old grandson will just cry for a few days! Oh, yeah, and my daughter will live a sad, sad life, hating Konoha ninja forever. But it won't be your fault! Not at all!"

Kakashi twitched at that, scratching the plate on his hitai-ate. Then, he sighed and smiled at Tazuna, saying, "Well, I guess we have no choice. We will protect you, at least until you get back to your country."

Tazuna smiled and thanked them profusely, but they could all see the victorious glint in his eyes.

They set off, Kakashi in the front, Hinata and Tazuna in the middle, and Naruto and Sasuke bringing up the rear.

"Hey," Sasuke said softly, looking down at Naruto's hands. "You're shaking."

"Still a bit shocked, I guess..." Naruto mumbled, taking deep breaths. "It's not like I've actually killed a man before..."

"It was you or him," Sasuke said simply. "Don't beat yourself up about it."

"Well, _I_ know that, but my body doesn't seem to want to listen."

"It's not good to be shaking, especially now that we know that enemies are going to attack."

"Give me a minute, and I'll be fine," Naruto said, a small grin on his face.

The group managed to make their way into Wave Country without encountering any more enemies. However, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata were always on alert, their senses sharp. As Naruto had said, his shaking had stopped, and he was ready for anything.

"If we're attacked again, it'll probably be a Jounin, since the two Chuunin were defeated," Naruto stated as they walked, to which Kakashi nodded.

"Without a doubt."

Naruto perked up, and in a flash he fished out a kunai, hurling it into a bush, making the others jump, save for Kakashi, who must have sensed it as well.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked, tense.

"Tch, Kawarimi, huh?" Naruto muttered, lowering his hand. His eyes closed, and he stretched out his senses.

"EVERYONE, GET DOWN!" Kakashi ordered suddenly, ducking, just as Naruto detected the presence. Naruto grabbed Hinata and dropped, while Sasuke tackled Tazuna to the ground.

A giant sword came flying through the air, passing through the space where the Genin's necks would have been, before embedding itself in a tree, at which point a ninja landed on the hilt of the massive zanbatou.

The man wore striped pants, camo pattern leg- and arm-warmers, and bandages wrapped around the lower half of his face. Tied sideways to his head was a Kiri hitai-ate.

"Well, well..." Kakashi uttered as they all got to their feet. "If it isn't the Kirigakure Missing-Nin, Momochi Zabuza-kun!"

"Naruto?" Sasuke uttered, as Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Be careful, guys. This guy's got as much chakra as I do. And it's dark... very dark... and powerful..." Naruto muttered.

Hinata formed a few handseals, then called, "Byakugan!" Veins were visible around her eyes as her Dojutsu activated, and her eyes widened when she looked at Zabuza. "H-He's right! This chakra...!"

Sasuke, curious, activated his Sharingan and looked at Zabuza, his eyes widening as well.

"No... It's only a little, but his chakra stores are larger than yours, Naruto..."

"Hoh," Zabuza spoke, turning around so that he was facing them. He lowered himself into a crouch, resting his elbows on his knees as he watched them. "Sharingan, Byakugan, and a skilled sensor. Not to mention Sharingan no Kakashi... No wonder why the Demon Brothers lost... Sorry, but... the old man is mine."

"Sharingan?" Naruto and Sasuke uttered in unison, amazed, as Kakashi reached for his headband.

"Surround and protect Tazuna," Kakashi ordered. "Do not enter the fight. That's the teamwork here. Zabuza, first..." Kakashi slowly lifted his headband to reveal his left eye, which had a scar through it. And in it... was a Sharingan... "...fight me."

"Ah, I already get to see the famous Sharingan. I'm honored," Zabuza said, and it was evident that he was smirking behind his bandages. "When I was in the Kirigakure ANBU, I kept a handbook. It included information of you. It said, 'the man who has copied over one thousand jutsu... Copy Ninja Kakashi.'"

"Oi, Sasuke," Naruto muttered. "I thought the Sharingan was an Uchiha bloodline. Why the hell does he have it?"

"No idea..." Sasuke said, narrowing his own pair of Sharingan eyes. "But I intend to find out."

"Let's end all the talking," Zabuza said as he reached down, grabbing the hilt of the sword he was standing on. "I have to kill that old man." Immediately, the three Genin moved to stand protectively around Tazuna, ready for anything. "But... Kakashi, it seems I have to beat you first."

Zabuza kicked off the tree, yanking his sword out as he flew toward the lake in front of them, landing on it. He released a large amount of chakra, causing the water to start swirling around him.

"Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Technique)..." Zabuza muttered as a thick mist rolled in, causing him to disappear from view.

"He'll come after me first," Kakashi announced. "Momochi Zabuza... As a ninja of Kiri, he was known as an expert in silent killing. You don't even notice until you're already dead... It's not like I can use the Sharingan perfectly. You guys be careful."

Suddenly, the mist got even thicker, and Zabuza's voice was heard coming from all around them.

"Eight choices... Larynx, Spine, Lungs, Liver, Jugular, Subclavian Artery, Kidneys, Heart... Which one should I go after?"

Both Kakashi and Zabuza started flooding the area with killing intent. It was so much that Naruto felt every single muscle in his body tense, and he couldn't help but shiver slightly. He turned his head to look at Hinata, to see that her Byakugan was fading, and her entire body was shaking. She was also visibly sweating in fright.

"Hinata," Naruto spoke suddenly, catching her attention. He smiled when she looked at him. "Stay strong. This is what he wants, so keep your guard up."

"Sasuke," Kakashi spoke suddenly, and Naruto turned his head to see that Sasuke had been shaking as well. "Don't worry. I'll protect you guys with my life," their sensei said as he turned his head to smile at them. "I don't let my comrades die."

"We'll see about that..." came Zabuza's voice from between Tazuna and the Genin. "It's over."

Zabuza wasn't fast enough, however. In a flash, Sasuke's chokuto had been unsheathed, and he spun faster than Naruto had ever seen him move. The blade flashed, and Zabuza's head was suddenly separated from his body, his eyes wide. The body and the head, however, exploded in a shower of water, and Naruto's eyes widened when he picked up on Zabuza's chakra.

"Sensei, behind you!" he called out, but too late, as Zabuza's massive sword had already cut Kakashi in half...

...only for Kakashi's body to disperse into water as well, another Kakashi appearing behind Zabuza with a kunai at his neck.

"Don't move," Kakashi ordered. "It's over."

'Tch,' Naruto thought, gritting his teeth. 'This damn mist is covered in his chakra. I can hardly even sense Kakashi through it...' he thought, then looked at Hinata. "Oi, Hinata, can you see anything?"

"N-No, Naruto-kun... Th-There's t-too much chakra in the air..."

"Same here," Sasuke muttered. Then, his eyes widened when Zabuza spoke to Kakashi. "Sensei, behind you!"

Kakashi's eyes widened when yet another Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, the Zabuza in front of him dissolving into water. He ducked under a sword swing, but Zabuze didn't even pause when his sword dug into the ground. Instead, he spun, switching his grip, and booted Kakashi in the face, sending him flying through the air. Zabuza immediately pulled his sword out of the ground and ran off, jumping toward the spot where Kakashi splashed into the water. As Kakashi surfaced, Zabuza landed behind him and flashed through handseals.

"Suiro no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique)!" he announced as the water shot up to envelop Kakashi in a ball, Zabuza holding his hand in it to keep it going. "You tried to escape to the water. Big mistake. Now I have you in an inescapable prison!" Zabuza said, chuckling. "It's tougher if you can't move, you know? Now, Kakashi, we can finish things later. First, I'll take care of them," he said as he put his hand in a half-Ram seal. Out of the water rose a Mizu Bunshin, who walked onto the shore, chuckling softly.

"Wearing those hitai-ate and acting like ninja," the clone said, smirking behind his bandages. "A real ninja is someone who has survived numerous brushes with death. Only when you're good enough to be listed in my handbook can you start calling yourself ninja. You are not ninja... just brats."

"Take Tazuna-san and run!" Kakashi yelled suddenly. "You have no chance of beating him! As long as he's keeping me trapped in this prison, he can't move! The Mizu Bunshin can't go very far from his real body! Just run away now!"

Naruto slowly turned his head to look at Sasuke, who smirked and nodded. Then he looked to Hinata, who gulped, but steeled herself nonetheless, nodding as well.

"Run away? Tch, Kakashi-sensei, you underestimate us," Naruto said, a grin spreading on his face. "A Mizu Bunshin only possesses one tenth of the original's power. Do you think us that weak?"

"Besides, the success of this fight depends on you," Sasuke said. "If we run away now, Zabuza will just kill you, then pick us off one-by-one at his leisure. Besides, those who abandon their comrades are even worse than trash, right?"

"Tazuna-san," Naruto said, ignoring Kakashi's wide-eyed look, instead looking to the old man, who sighed.

"Well... I planted this seed myself. I'm not going to say that I desire to live so much that I'd stop you. I'm sorry, guys! Fight as much as you want!"

Zabuza's clone, however, just started laughing, grinning slightly.

"You guys will never grow up! Going to keep playing ninja, eh? When I... When I was your age... these hands were already dyed red with blood."

"So?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow. "What, that makes you a ninja? That just makes you a psychopathic killer, you eyebrowless freak!" he exclaimed, raising his hand to point at Zabuza. "Don't talk as if you know us! Talking trash is for when the battle is over! Sasuke, Combo Twenty-Seven!"

"Heh, right!" Sasuke said as they both started flashing through handseals. Naruto ended in a Snake seal, and a wooden pole shot out of the ground in front of Sasuke, heading past the Zabuza clone and then curving around him, intending on wrapping around him. The clone, despite the shock at seeing a Mokuton jutsu used, leapt into the air to avoid it, which was a big mistake, as the wood shot upward and wrapped around him, trapping him, just as Sasuke finished his handseals.

"Naruto-Sasuke Konbi Jutsu: (Naruto-Sasuke Combo Technique:)" they both announced, Naruto grinning and Sasuke blowing a stream of flame at the wood, which shot up along it to encase the entire wooden pole and the Zabuza clone in flames, "Yakiniku (Grilled meat)!"

The flames burned so hot that when the clone died, the water didn't drop to the ground, instead turning into steam and rising into the air.

"Hoh," the real Zabuza uttered in amusement. "Mokuton Ninjutsu, eh? That was unexpected. However..." He put his hand in another half-Ram seal, and ten more Mizu Bunshin rose from the water, walking onto the shore.

"Sasuke, you can do it, right?" Naruto asked his friend, who immediately knew what he was referring to and nodded, unsheathing his chokuto again. "Good. I'll clear a path. Go!"

Sasuke shot off toward the clones, who all raised their swords and made to attack. Wood spikes shooting from the ground forced them to dodge, however, allowing Sasuke to pass through unscathed. He shot toward the real Zabuza, cocking his arm back, then swung...

Zabuza, however, ducked under the swing, but Sasuke wasn't done, spinning and throwing a kunai at Zabuza's head, which forced him to dodge out of the way, pulling his hand out of the water prison in the process.

The clones, seeing this, made to go after Sasuke, but that provided enough of a distraction for Naruto to focus his chakra into the ground and cause more wooden spikes to shoot out of it, impaling and destroying the clones.

"You brat!" Zabuza yelled at Sasuke, reaching up to grab the sword on his back, only for Kakashi's sandal to plant itself into his face, knocking him back.

"Your opponent... is me," Kakashi said, his Sharingan narrowed dangerously. Zabuza bounced on the water, landing in a crouch and rising to a stand.

"Heh, I got distracted and released the jutsu..."

"Wrong," Kakashi said. "You were _forced_ to release it," he corrected, which made Zabuza twitch. "Naruto, Sasuke, good job. Don't worry, though. I'll take it from here."

Zabuza looked like he was gritting his teeth as Sasuke nodded and sheathed his chokuto, running past Kakashi and back to Naruto, Hinata, and Tazuna, whereupon he gave Naruto a high five.

"I'll tell you now, I don't fall for the same jutsu twice," Kakashi said, staring calmly at Zabuza. "What will you do now?"

"Tch!" Zabuza uttered and leapt back, before starting a long chain of seals, which were perfectly mimicked by Kakashi.

"Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Element: Water Dragon Projectile Technique)!" the both called out in perfect unison as two dragons formed out of the water between them and charged at each other, crashing into each other and exploding.

"That many seals, and he copied them flawlessly," Naruto muttered, bracing himself as the water washed up onto the shore and crashed into them. He turned to look at Sasuke. "Can you do that?"

"Not at this stage of the Sharingan, no," Sasuke said, shaking his head as he saw the two Jounin clash right underneath where the two water dragons had crashed into each other, Kakashi blocking Zabuza's sword with a kunai.

'Strange...' Zabuza thought, narrowing his eyes as he stared into the Sharingan. 'What's going on?'

He pushed off and jumped back, Kakashi mimicking his actions perfectly, as he tried circling around him, then stopped and raised his hands to perform the Kirigakure jutsu.

'My movements...' Zabuza thought as he lowered one of his hands, Kakashi doing the same. 'He's completely...'

"Reading them," Kakashi finished his line of thought, making his eyes widen.

'What? Did he read my mind?' Zabuza thought, feeling sweat breaking out on his forehead, placing his hands in a seal. 'Damn! That...'

"Freaky eye is pissing me off... right?"

Zabuza twitched. "Heh... All you're doing is copying me!"

"You can't beat me, you monkey bastard!" both Kakashi and Zabuza exclaimed at once, and that really made Zabuza's eyes widen.

"Damn you! I'll make it so you can never open that mouth again!" Zabuza growled out, flashing through handseals. He stopped, however, amazed, as he saw himself form behind Kakashi. 'That... That's... me? That's not possible! Is this one of his Genjutsu?'

Kakashi, to his surprise, finished the chain of seals Zabuza had been doing, and called out, "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water Element: Grand Waterfall Technique)!" as his Sharingan started spinning, and the water in front of him came to life and rose up, rushing at Zabuza.

"WHAT?! IMPOSSIBLE!" Zabuza roared as the water smashed into him, sending him through a large amount of trees with the force of it. 'I'm the one doing the jutsu... yet I can't keep up!' he thought in a panic, right before getting washed into a tree, after which his arms and legs were pierced by kunai.

"It's over," came Kakashi's voice from above, making him look up to see Kakashi crouching on a tree branch.

"How...? Can you see the future?" Zabuza asked, still in shock.

"Yeah... Your future is death," Kakashi proclaimed, raising a kunai. Before he could use it, however, two senbon needles came flying out of nowhere and pierced Zabuza's neck. Zabuza's eyes were wide as he collapsed to the ground, and everyone looked up to another tree, to see a kid around the Genin's age, wearing a mask that looked almost like an ANBU mask, which had the Kiri markings on the forehead.

"Hehe... You're right. He's dead," the boy spoke in a very feminine voice, which matched his feminine body.

"Who's the gender-confused mask-boy?" Naruto asked loudly, displaying his usual tact as Kakashi jumped down to Zabuza's body, checking his pulse.

"Thank you very much," the masked ninja said, bowing. "I have been searching for the opportunity to kill Zabuza for a long time."

"That mask," Kakashi said, looking up at him. "You're a Kiri Hunter-Nin..."

"Hunter-Nin?" Hinata repeated in confusion, looking to her teammates for explanations.

"Hunter-Nin are a special division of ANBU," Sasuke explained. "Their duty is to hunt down and kill missing-nin... Tch, to get a rank like that at that age..."

"There are some great ninja out there, eh?" Naruto asked, a grin on his face. "It'd be nice to fight him."

The Hunter-Nin jumped down and slung Zabuza's arm over his shoulder, picking him up.

"Your battle is now over, and I must dispose of this body, since it seems to be a body with many secrets," he said, putting his hand in a half-Ram seal. "Farewell."

The wind started kicking up around him so fast that it was howling, and then, in the blink of an eye, he and Zabuza's corpse were gone.

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief, pulling down his headband to cover his Sharingan, and Sasuke and Hinata deactivated their own eyes.

"Now we have to get Tazuna-san home," Kakashi announced to his Genin. "Let's go!"

"Hahaha! Super thanks, guys!" Tazuna said brightly. "Come over to my house and relax for a while!"

Just as he said that, Kakashi suddenly froze, and tipped forward, unable to move.

"Ah, I was wondering when that would happen," Naruto said, unsurprised as he walked up to Kakashi, crouching down in front of him. "Your chakra stores are lower than mine, and you're using a transplanted eye. That should drain you pretty quickly, eh? Sasuke, gimme a hand here."

"Why? Too weak to carry him yourself?"

"Shut yer face-hole and give me a hand!"

"Heh..."

–

**So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Remember to leave a review!**

**Peace,**

**ZnK**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, guys! Here's the fourth chapter! A day later than planned, but my internet was having some problems yesterday, so I couldn't post it. Can now, though, and I decided to combine this chapter with the next. Double length, so that's awesome, right? Anyway, enjoy!**

–

"Hey, hey, Sasuke," Naruto said as he stood over Kakashi, who was laying in a futon in Tazuna's house. "Should I be worried that you'll end up like that if you use the Sharingan for an extended period of time?"

"I know what you're trying to do," Sasuke said, his arms crossed as he took off his sandals. "And it's not going to work."

"Oh? Then what am I trying to do?"

"You're trying to rile me up. You have already showed that you know that the only reason the Sharingan drained sensei like that was because his body and chakra system are not built for the Sharingan, so you already know you don't have to worry about something like that... idiot."

"Huh?" Naruto said, blinking as he cupped his ear. "Oh, I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over this un-copyable Mokuton Ninjutsu I have."

Just as Sasuke knew how to annoy Naruto (by calling him stupid), Naruto knew perfectly well how to annoy Sasuke (by mentioning the fact that he'd be unable to copy Naruto's bloodline jutsu). Therefore, it came as no surprise to those who knew them that they suddenly got involved in a glaring match in which one could almost see the sparks flying between them as they tried to mutilate each other with nothing but their eyes.

"B-By the way, Kakashi-sensei... Who was that masked ninja?" Hinata asked, trying to take Naruto and Sasuke's attention away from each other, and onto the matter at hand.

"That's the mask worn by the Kirigakure special Hunter-Nin squad," Kakashi said, completely unable to move. "They are also known as body erasers. Their duty is to completely dispose of the body without a trace. A ninja's body has within it secrets of the village's Ninjutsu. Information on different chakra types, herbs, and other things that will reveal information about the village. For example, if I died, the secrets of the Sharingan could be revealed. If you're not careful, there's the danger that the enemy will steal your jutsu. A ninja's body can reveal important information. So, by killing and disposing of the missing-nin who have abandoned their village, the Hunter-Nin protect the information from getting out. They are the specialists who guard their village's secrets. No sound... No smell... That is a ninja's end."

"Shitty way to end," Naruto commented, giving a low whistle.

"Hn..."

"I need to get some sleep," Kakashi announced suddenly. "The longer I rest, the quicker I'll be back to full health."

"Alright, I'll keep my senses up," Naruto said, molding chakra.

Sasuke sighed as he lay back on the floor, hands behind his head, muttering, "Something tells me this following week will be... boring..."

Naruto looked around, and saw that Hinata had moved away from Kakashi, sitting and facing the wall. Raising an eyebrow, Naruto walked over and plopped down next to her, staring at her curiously.

"Hey, you alright?"

Hinata jumped and snapped her head toward Naruto, her eyes wide. She had no doubt been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she hadn't even noticed him.

"Y-Yes, I-I'm... I'm fine..." Hinata mumbled, turning her head to look down at the floor.

"A blind man could see that something is bothering you," Naruto said. "Now, we're teammates. We're supposed to rely on each other. What's wrong?"

Hinata was quiet for a moment, probably contemplating whether to tell Naruto or not. Then, she sighed and said, "I... I'm not sure if I... belong on this team..."

"And what brought this on?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I'm... I'm not very strong, Naruto-kun... I'm weak... and you, Sasuke-kun, and Kakashi-sensei... you're all so strong... and I'm not..."

Naruto hummed as he stared at Hinata, who looked distraught. He waited for a few seconds, then asked, "And?"

This caused Hinata to blink in confusion.

"W-What?"

"And so what?" Naruto said, shrugging. "Do you think Sasuke and I were born this strong? No way. Training is the key. If you feel you're weak, then get stronger, that's all there is to it."

"B-But it's... it's not that simple, Naruto-kun! You're making it sound so easy!"

"It's only hard if you make it hard," Naruto said simply as he got to his feet. "Tell you what, come with Sasuke and me when we go training tomorrow. We'll get you strong."

For some reason, Hinata couldn't help but feel a sense of dread upon hearing that. Something about the glint in Naruto's eye had been incredibly dangerous...

Suddenly, Kakashi, who had just fallen asleep, shot up in his futon, covering his face with his hand as he appeared deep in thought.

"What's wrong, sensei?" Naruto asked as he sat down next to Sasuke, who was looking at their sensei curiously as well.

"Huh?" Kakashi uttered as he looked up at his Genin. "Oh, well, body-erasing teams usually dispose of the body of the person they killed right there."

"But that Hunter-Nin took the body away..." Naruto muttered, his eyes narrowing as he made the connection.

"Yeah. If he needed proof of his work, he could have just taken the head," Kakashi said, stroking his chin. "And the weapon that he used to kill Zabuza..."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "No way..."

"Yeah, exactly," Kakashi said, nodding.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tazuna asked curiously.

"Most likely... Zabuza is still alive," Kakashi announced, making Tazuna and Hinata go wide-eyed.

"Those senbon..." Sasuke said, scratching his head in thought. "It's possible that he just put Zabuza in a momentary state of death..."

"Indeed. First, he took the body of the much heavier Zabuza with him. Second, he used a weapon that has a low probability of killing," Kakashi said with a sigh of resignation. "These two points indicate that his motive was not to kill Zabuza, but to save him. We can't ignore that possibility."

"Aren't you thinking too much?" Tazuna asked nervously. "Hunter-Nin are supposed to kill missing-nin."

"If he was even a Hunter-Nin at all," Naruto muttered, crossing his arms. "But whether it's true or not, the possibility is there, so it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Exactly. So, we will prepare before it's too late. Plus, whether Zabuza is dead or alive, there are no assurances that Gatou hasn't hired an even stronger ninja. Therefore, Naruto, Sasuke!"

The two friends straightened up upon being addressed by Kakashi and gave him their full attention.

"You two are very strong, and you're getting stronger every day. Hinata has massive amounts of untapped potential. Can I trust you two to release it while I'm recovering?"

"Heh, I'm way ahead of you, sensei!" Naruto said with a grin, flashing him a thumbs up. "Hehe, this is getting fun!"

"That's not fun," came a new voice as a kid, looking no older than eight, entered the house.

"Oh, Inari!" Tazuna exclaimed happily. "Where were you?"

"Welcome back, Grandpa," the boy, Inari, said as he walked up to Tazuna, giving him a hug.

"Inari," Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, said, "say hello to these people. They are ninja who protected grandpa."

Inari turned his head to look at Kakashi and his Genin for a good long while. Then, he turned to his mother and pointed at the ninja.

"Mom... they are going to die."

"What was that?!" Naruto barked.

"There's no way you can win against Gatou," Inari said adamantly.

"Words like that should be saved for after the fighting is done," Sasuke said, glaring lightly at Inari. "Otherwise, you'll look like a fool afterward."

"Listen, Sasuke and I can't lose to a guy like Gatou," Naruto said, slinging his arm around Sasuke's shoulder. "We're gonna be heroes one day. We're not gonna go down fighting a chump like him."

"Hey, let go, you fool!"

"What are you, stupid?" Inari asked, staring coldly at Naruto. "There's no such thing as a hero!"

Naruto froze for a second, his eyes going cold. Then, he muttered, "Sasuke, hold me back."

As ordered, Sasuke grabbed Naruto from behind, just as the blond made to charge at Inari.

"Why, you little...!"

"If you don't want to die, you should leave..." Inari muttered, turning around and walking off.

"Where are you going, Inari?" Tazuna asked.

"To look at the ocean from my room."

With that, Inari left, and Naruto glared at the closed door for a good five minutes before he turned away.

–

"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed the following day as he stood in a clearing in the woods near Tazuna's house with Sasuke and Hinata. "I hope you're rested, because you're going to need the energy, Hinata! First of all, we're going to improve your speed and power."

"Um... H-How are we... going to do that?" Hinata asked nervously as Naruto walked up to her.

"First, lose the jacket," he said, reaching out and unzipping the now red-faced Hinata's jacket and pulling it off her, revealing her mesh shirt and short tank top underneath, along with her already developing chest. "It'll only get in the way. You need mobility. Now, excuse me."

Naruto turned away, and Sasuke did the same, both of them with small blushes on their faces. If one could read minds, they would have heard them both think, 'She should never have been allowed to cover those up,' in perfect unison. Then, Naruto cleared his throat and turned back to Hinata, who was still blushing furiously.

"Alright, we're going to help you progress using the same method we use to get stronger and faster," he said, skillfully avoiding staring at her chest as he reached into his right kunai pouch, taking out two black bracelets, identical to the ones he wore on his own wrists. "Put these on," he said, handing them to Hinata, who did as ordered. "Those are chakra weights. Currently, they weigh a pound each. The more chakra you pour into them, the heavier they become. You want them to be heavy enough to make you sluggish, but not heavy enough to render you unable to move. Once you have added the desired weight, we will be doing some sparring. This will help you develop muscles that won't inhibit you in your fighting style. Your musculature, as it grows stronger, will adapt to your movements. Understood?"

"Y-Yes, Naruto-kun."

"Be careful when you add chakra to the bracelets. Too much, and you'll be unable to move, and..." Naruto grinned, looking a bit like a sadistic teacher, taking pleasure in his students' plight. "...neither Sasuke nor I feel like removing any weight from them."

Hinata eeped at that, but nonetheless channeled chakra into her bracelets, being extremely careful by channeling a little at a time, to make sure they didn't get too heavy. Once she reached a weight she felt satisfied with, she nodded to Naruto, whose eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly.

"Throw a punch," he ordered, and Hinata did so. He shook his head. "Too light. You need to struggle to maintain the same speed and mobility you have without the weights. Increase it."

"Y-Yes, Naruto-kun..."

Hinata channeled more chakra into the bracelets and deemed herself ready. Once more she was ordered to throw a punch, and once more Naruto ordered her to increase the weights.

This time, Naruto seemed satisfied, and Hinata stood there, feeling like her arms were going to get pulled out of their sockets from the weight.

"Alright!" Naruto said, clapping his hands together. "It's time for you to spar with Sasuke," he announced, which made Hinata's eyes widen. "Sasuke is a much more versatile Taijutsu fighter. I'm stronger than him, but I'm more of a brawler. My style is very unorthodox for ninja, so fighting me will probably just prepare you against fighting only me. Sasuke, however, has a style more closely resembling a traditional ninja style. So, you're fighting him."

"I won't go easy on you, though," Sasuke said, walking up to stand next to Naruto, smirking. "If I did, that would be insulting. You want to get stronger, right?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Alright, then get ready," Naruto said as he moved to stand between them. "This is a Taijutsu-only spar. That means no chakra usage whatsoever. Although, you are allowed to use your Doujutsu, and the Juuken is allowed. Sasuke," he said and held out his hand. Sasuke nodded and removed his chokuto, tossing it to Naruto, who raised it into the air. "Alright, are you both ready? Then... fight!"

–

"Ouch..." Sasuke muttered as he held his side, while Naruto was treating a few bruises on Hinata's arms. She had been very good at dodging Sasuke's strikes aimed at her body, but she wasn't capable of dodging them entirely, and ended up getting hit on the arms. She had surprisingly managed to get in a few strikes as well, however, and one of them hurt like hell. She had hit him with a Juuken strike right between his ribs, so she didn't just hit his chakra point, but also hurt him physically.

"'I'm weak,' she says," Naruto muttered, shaking his head in amusement. "Hinata, do you know how many of the graduated Genin would have been able to land a hit on Sasuke, except for me?"

"N-No..." Hinata mumbled, her head bowed. She was too kind, in Naruto's opinion. She had already apologized profusely for hurting Sasuke several times, even though he had just waved her off every time, and still looked apologetic.

"No one," Naruto informed her with a grin. "You're strong, Hinata. But you can get stronger. Just keep training with us, and we'll get you up to Jounin level in no time."

"I... I hope so..."

"Tch... That's not a Jounin attitude. Hell, it's not even a ninja attitude," Sasuke muttered, glancing at Hinata out of the corner of his eye, as it hurt too much to turn his body. "Use more force when you speak. Naruto, show her."

"Right," Naruto said, grinning at Hinata. "What you do is just gather energy in your chest, take a deep breath, and then let it out!" he instructed, pumping his fist. "'Yes! I'm certain I will!' Say something like that!"

"T-That... I couldn't..." Hinata mumbled, poking her fingertips together. "Such a thing..."

"True, that might be a bit too advanced for you at this stage. Alright, then, how about a 'yes?' Say it with guts!"

"E-Eh?"

"What my moronic friend is trying to say is that you should say it with as much energy as you can muster. A non-stuttering yes will do, however," Sasuke explained.

Naruto nodded in confirmation. Then, he paused for a few seconds, followed by him gritting his teeth and snapping his head in Sasuke's direction to give him a murderous glare.

"HEY, SASUKE! WHAT'S WITH THE 'MORONIC FRIEND'?! WANT ME TO BEAT THE CRAP OUTTA YA?!"

"Heh, it only took four seconds to register this time. You're getting faster," Sasuke said with a smirk. The smirk vanished, however, when Naruto ran up to him and kicked him where Hinata had hit him with the Juuken strike.

That was the scene Kakashi showed up to. Naruto was gritting his teeth and glaring down at Sasuke, who was rolling on the ground, clutching his side, while Hinata sat to the side, giggling at their antics. Kakashi leaned against his crutches, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"Is this what counts as a training session for you guys?" he asked, catching the attention of his Genin.

"Oh, sensei!" Naruto said, his anger fading completely, a grin plastered on his face. "We've been gauging Hinata's strength, and we're taking a break right now."

"Ah, I see... You really look like you're relaxing..." Kakashi muttered, sweatdropping. "Anyway, I remembered something I was going to ask you. Have any of you learned a chakra exercise called tree climbing?"

"I-It's a basic chakra exercise... In the Hyuuga Clan, chakra control is essential, so... we learn it at an early age..." Hinata mumbled, to which Kakashi nodded, then looked to the two males of the team.

"Naruto, Sasuke?"

"The Jiji taught us a couple of years ago," Naruto said, nodding, which made Kakashi's eyes widen.

"You got Hokage-sama to take time out of his busy schedule to teach it to you?" he asked in surprise, but Sasuke, who had recovered by now, gave a scoff of amusement.

"More like blackmailed him," he said, smirking. "Naruto got bored and wanted to learn something new. Since the Hokage is the greatest ninja in the village, Naruto figured he must know something we could learn, so he threatened that if he didn't teach us, Naruto would go ballistic in his office and throw all his paperwork out the window."

Kakashi sweatdropped again when he saw Naruto's proudly grinning face. 'Blackmailing the Hokage by threatening to force him to either go out and collect all his paperwork, or redo it... Threatening my Icha Icha Paradise... That Naruto is good at finding people's weaknesses and exploiting them...'

Shaking his head, Kakashi cleared his throat. "Anyway, Tazuna-san is going to start working on the bridge again tomorrow, and I need one of you to protect him while I'm recovering."

"I can do it," Sasuke volunteered. "That way, Naruto can focus on Hinata's training. And the day after that, Naruto can protect him, while I take over the training."

"Sounds like a plan," Kakashi said with an approving nod. "If something happens, I want you to shoot up a flare, so everyone else can come help."

–

"I-I'm so tired..." Hinata mumbled near the end of the week. She had been through non-stop training even since they started. When Naruto and Sasuke said they were going to work her to the bone, they weren't exactly exaggerating. Currently, everyone was at the dinner table, eating. "I'm so sore, I can hardly even keep my food down..."

"Oh, you're gonna puke?" Sasuke asked, a hint of interest in his voice. "I did that once, too. No shame in it."

"N-No... I'm fine..."

"You really need to eat, though. You need fat to convert to muscle mass, after all."

"Where's Naruto?" Kakashi asked, blinking. His body was already much better, and he could move around without a problem. In fact, he was good as new now. "Usually, he'd be the first to the dinner table."

"He's still out training. Damn machine. He can keep going for days..." Sasuke muttered. "In fact, he _has_ been going for days, ever since that Kaiza story."

When Sasuke spoke that name, Inari, who was sitting across from Sasuke, tensed up, and looked ready to leave the table. Since Sasuke didn't mention it again, however, he stayed, but kept his head down.

"But even Naruto has a limit," Kakashi said slowly. "It would be bad if he used up too much chakra..."

"Wouldn't surprise me if he had. The useless moron is probably dead by now," Sasuke said, shrugging. He didn't mean it, however. He knew Naruto would never die from chakra exhaustion. It was not a spectacular enough way to die for him.

"I wanted to ask you this earlier, but..." Tazuna muttered, giving Kakashi a confused look. "Why are you still here, even when I lied to you about this mission?"

"To abandon your duty is not courageous. Below the courageous, there is nothing," Kakashi said simply. "Those were the previous Hokage's words. That is the way of the shinobi. Shinobi don't move because of money alone."

Just then, the door opened, and Naruto, sweaty, dirty, and panting, came in, a tired grin on his face.

"You've worn yourself out again, moron," Sasuke said, giving Naruto a glance. "You look like you can barely stand, let alone move."

"I think I'm operating more on willpower than anything else right now..." Naruto muttered, slouching up to the table and taking a seat. Without another word, his head dropped, impacting hard with the table, which made everyone jump. "I'd rather just go to sleep right now. But first, some grub!"

"Hehe, I'm also super worn out from today's bridge work," Tazuna said, smiling brightly. "At any rate, the bridge is almost complete."

"Naruto-kun, father, don't overdo it, okay?" Tsunami said in stern concern, but the two just kept smiling. They sat in silence for a while, and Naruto noticed Inari staring at him intently, tears welling up in his eyes. Then, Inari snapped.

"Why do you guys bother so hard?! No matter how hard you train, you're still no match for Gatou's men! No matter what glorious claims you make, or how hard you work, when facing the strong, the weak will only end up getting killed!"

The grin faded from Naruto's face, and the blond gave Inari a long, almost bored stare.

"Whatever. I'm not like you."

"I'd hate to be like you! You don't know anything about this country, yet you're being so nosy!" Inari yelled. "What the hell do you know about me?! I'm different from you! You're always clowning around and acting so cheerful! You don't know how hard life can be!"

Now, the bored look faded, and Naruto's eyes, for the first time in years, turned an icy blue that no one had ever seen before.

"Ah, so I should be like you, then? Cry and act like the star of some great tragedy?" he asked coldly. Then, it was as though a fire had ignited in his eyes as he gave Inari one of his fiercest glares, one that he didn't even use on Sasuke. "Then keep crying forever, you little sissy!"

The tears started flowing from Inari's eyes again, and he sat there, trembling, as Naruto stood up and made to walk away, only for his knees to give out. Sasuke was out of his seat in an instant, catching Naruto before his knees even hit the floor, which made Naruto laugh.

"Aha, sorry, Sasuke... Guess I did overdo it..."

"Tch... You idiot, get some rest. You're probably going to need it tomorrow," Sasuke said as he helped Naruto get to the guest room.

–

Naruto, still tired and sore, got out of his futon and got dressed, his eyes half-lidded as he went through his morning stretches. He gave a very loud yawn as he left the guest room and made his way toward the kitchen, only to stop outside the living room and turn to look inside it. Tsunami and Inari were on the floor, Inari helping his mother with her knitting.

"Aah, this is a surprise," Naruto said tiredly. "You're not usually up this early."

"Early, Naruto-kun?" Tsunami said, blinking. "It's noon."

"Eh?"

Naruto blinked as well as he stared at Tsunami, before looking out the window to see that, indeed, the sun was shining brightly. His eyes widened.

"AH! I overslept!" he exclaimed, clutching his head. "I've never overslept in my life!"

"Sensei said you should rest..."

"No time for rest! I need to be out there!" Naruto exclaimed, rushing off. "I'm off!"

Naruto ran out of the house and into the woods, taking a shortcut to the bridge. As he jumped from branch to branch in the trees, however, he stopped suddenly and looked down toward the road to his right. There was a boar next to the road, and it was cut up bad. He looked around, and saw several cuts in the trees, leading toward Tazuna's house.

'Tazuna-san said that Gatou has two bodyguards who specialize in Iaijutsu...' Naruto thought, narrowing his eyes. "Tch, they're not very subtle, are they?"

Meanwhile, Inari was in his house, trembling. Two men had just come in and kidnapped his mother, and he had been powerless to do anything.

'I don't want to die... I'm afraid...' he thought, crying to himself. 'I'm sorry, mom...'

"_You little sissy!_" Naruto's voice echoed in his head suddenly, making his eyes widen. "_Cry and act like the star of some great tragedy?_"

"_He's probably sick and tired of crying,_" came Kakashi's voice next.

"_Then keep crying forever, you little sissy!_"

"_He knows what it means to be truly strong, just like your dad._"

As Inari slowly lowered his hands from his face to look at them, the voice of his dead 'father,' Kaiza, echoed in his head, "_If it's truly previous, even if you lose your life, you must protect it with these two arms!_"

'They're all so incredible... So cool... So strong...' Inari thought, wiping his eyes. Then, he stood up, a look of determination on his face, no longer crying. 'Will I... Will I also be able to become strong, dad?'

With that, he ran out of the house, where he saw the two swordsmen leading his mother away.

"WAIT!" he yelled angrily, which made the three stop and turn to him.

"Inari!" Tsunami yelled in distress.

"It's that kid," the eye-patched swordsman said.

"GET AWAY FROM MY MOM!" Inari cried and charged at the two swordsmen, who scoffed and thumbed their swords out of their sheathes. Then, they dashed forward, slicing Inari into three pieces. Their eyes widened, however, when instead of Inari, they had cut a wooden doll who looked exactly like him.

"Kawarimi no Jutsu?!" one of the swordsmen asked, his eyes wide as he looked toward Tsunami, to see that Naruto had arrived, holding Inari in his arms.

"Sorry I'm late," Naruto announced, setting Inari down next to Tsunami, grinning. "But, you know, heroes usually show up at the last second, so it's alright."

"Naruto..." Inari muttered, staring at Naruto in shock, which got him a grin from the blond ninja.

"Great job, Inari! Thanks to you distracting them, I was able to save your mom."

"Well, well... If it isn't one of the loser ninja Tazuna hired," the eye-patched swordsman said, scoffing. The two charged at Naruto, which made Inari's eyes widen.

"Are you going to be alright?" the boy asked in concern, while Naruto just looked calm as ever. He slowly dragged his foot against the wooden planks beneath him, a smirk on his face as he tapped his foot against it. Suddenly, two blunt wooden poles grew out of the wood at great speed, smashing straight into the swordsmen's chins, snapping their heads back with the force. They stumbled back, straight into two more Naruto, who raised their hands. Their raised hands contorted and transformed into wooden fists twice their normal size. The swordsmen only had the time to give quick eeps, before the fists smashed into their faces, knocking them out cold.

Once the swordsmen were tied up and left hanging upside-down from a tree, Naruto casually brushed non-existent dust off his hands and gave a grin.

"Piece of cake."

"How did you know those swordsmen were coming here?" Inari asked.

"Oh, there was a cut-up boar in the forest, and a lot of cuts on the trees leading here. I got a bad feeling, so I turned back. Lucky I did, eh?" Naruto said as the grin faded, to be replaced by a soft smile. "Ah, sorry, Inari, about yesterday... I called you a sissy, but you're obviously not one," he said and put his hand on Inari's head, the grin returning once more. "You're strong!"

Inari's eyes widened, and tears started welling up in his eyes. Then, with a muttered, "Damn it..." he ducked his head and wiped his eyes. "I decided I wasn't going to cry anymore... You're going to make fun of me and call me a crybaby..."

"Tch, I'd never stoop to such a low-class insult. Tear-shedding baby-wimp, maybe," Naruto said, shrugging. Then he grinned at Inari again. "But that doesn't apply here. It's okay to cry when you're happy, Inari."

That did it. Inari started crying again as Naruto turned away, sighing.

"Ah well, if they attacked here, then the bridge is probably in danger. Sasuke can handle things, but it'd be bad if he hogged the spotlight. It might get to his head. I can count on you here, right?"

"Yup," Inari said immediately, once more wiping his eyes.

"Alright, Naruto is blasting off!"

With that, Naruto took off.

–

Before the encounter Naruto had with the swordsmen, Sasuke, Hinata, Kakashi, and Tazuna had just made it to the end of the bridge, which was almost at the mainland, to find that the five remaining workers were on the ground, bleeding.

"What's this?!" Tazuna exclaimed, rushing up to one of them, the only one who seemed to be awake. "What happened?!"

"A... A monster..." the worker muttered, gritting his teeth in pain, just as a thick mist rolled in.

"Here they come!" Kakashi said as Tazuna backed up, and the ninja took up a defensive formation around him.

"Kakashi-sensei... This is... Zabuza's Kirigakure no Jutsu..." Hinata mumbled, activating her Byakugan.

"Long time no see, Kakashi," came Zabuza's voice through the mist. "I see you're still with those brats... He's shaking again... poor kid..."

He was referring to Sasuke, who was shivering as a large group of Zabuza clones appeared around them. Sasuke gave a small grin as his Sharingan activated.

"I'm just so damn excited to see you again," Sasuke said, which made Kakashi smile.

"Do it, Sasuke."

Sasuke gripped his chokuto and pulled it out of his sheathe, moving so fast that he had only just barely unsheathed the sword when he reached the first Zabuza clone. Before the water from the first clone had even splashed to the ground, Sasuke reappeared in his original spot, all of the clones exploding as he slowly sheathed his chokuto.

"I don't know if anyone's ever told you, Zabuza, but you're a real drip," Sasuke joked, but then froze and palmed his face. "Damn it, I've been hanging around Naruto too much..."

"Hm... He saw through the water clones," came Zabuza's voice as the mist cleared slightly to show Zabuza and that fake Hunter-Nin standing on the bridge. "It looks like a rival has appeared... eh, Haku?"

"Indeed it does," the Hunter-Nin, Haku, said with a nod.

"It seems our suspicion was right on the mark," Kakashi commented, appearing to be the epitome of calmness, as always. "That masked one... He's obviously Zabuza's comrade, standing right next to him and all..."

"I'll fight him," Sasuke said, narrowing his eyes. "Tricking us with that stupid act... I hate bastards like that the third-most..."

"Third?" Kakashi asked, blinking.

"Second is Naruto when he's cranky. First is you when you're late."

That caused Kakashi to sweatdrop.

"An impressive young man," Haku spoke, ignoring their conversation. "Even though the water clones only have one tenth of the original's strength... Still very impressive."

"But we have gained the first advantage," Zabuza said. "Go!"

"Yes!"

Haku started spinning incredibly fast and shot forward. Sasuke tensed and did the same, unsheathing his chokuto again. The two clashed halfway, Sasuke smirking.

"Oh, nice speed. However, it's nothing my Sharingan cannot see," the Uchiha said. In all honesty, Haku was rather slow, compared to Naruto's Mokuton Ninjutsu, which moved at incredible speed.

"Hinata, it's not the most glamorous assignment in a fight, but stay in front of Tazuna and protect him," Kakashi said. "We'll let Sasuke handle the kid."

"Yes, sensei!" Hinata said, nodding with determination.

"Hoh, it seems our training has paid off," Sasuke said, demonstrating how Haku's strength was nowhere near his own by turning his head to look at Hinata, not even appearing bothered by the senbon-wielding ninja pushing against his chokuto. "There wasn't even a tremble in your voice just now. Good work, Hinata," he praised, before turning back to Haku, who raised his hand in a half-Ram seal.

"I don't want to have to kill you... but you won't stand down, will you?" Haku asked, which made Sasuke scoff.

"Don't be foolish."

"I see... But you won't be able to keep up with my speed the next time. Plus, I've already gained two advantages."

"Two advantages?" Sasuke repeated.

"The first is the water on the ground. And the second is that I have occupied one of your arms. You will now only be able to run from my attacks."

Sasuke's eyes widened when Haku started forming seals with only one hand, ending in a half-Ram seal again. The water around them suddenly rose into the air and formed needles, which all flew straight toward Sasuke. Despite the impending danger, however, Sasuke just smirked at Haku.

"How foolish..."

With that, the needles all pierced his body as Haku jumped away.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi yelled, his eye wide upon seeing the water needles piercing his student's body, while Zabuza just chuckled.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock, however, when Sasuke exploded in a puff of smoke.

"Kage Bunshin?" Haku whispered in surprise. He tensed and spun around suddenly, just in time to cop a kick to the face, courtesy of Sasuke. Sasuke's ankle impacted with the mask, perfectly hooking his foot around Haku's head, which allowed him to carry the ninja with him during his spin kick, and send him flying back toward Zabuza.

"I can't have you underestimating my team by calling them 'brats,'" Kakashi said to the shocked Kiri ninja after quickly recovering from his own shock. "Sasuke is Konoha's Rookie of the Year, Hinata is a Hyuuga, the number one Kunoichi of her graduating class, and the other is Uzumaki Naruto, wielder of the Mokuton Ninjutsu bloodline."

Zabuza, however, just started chuckling.

"Haku, do you realize that at this rate we'll be driven back?"

"Yeah... We can't have that," Haku said as the air suddenly grew cold, while the ninja put his hands in a strange seal Sasuke had never seen before. "Hijutsu: Makyou Hyoushou (Secret Technique: Demonic Ice Mirrors)!"

The water on the ground around Sasuke suddenly rose up to form plates of water, which froze and took on an appearance akin to that of a mirror. The mirrors rose up and formed a dome around Sasuke, who looked around with an annoyed look on his face.

"Mixed-element bloodline? Tch, I hate those..."

Mostly because he wouldn't be able to copy it, even if his Sharingan were to evolve to its most complete form...

Haku moved over to one of the mirrors... and stepped into it... How he managed to fit in there, Sasuke had no idea. The wonders of chakra, he supposed. In any case, Haku could be seen standing inside the mirror, but then, just as Sasuke was about to smash it, an image of Haku appeared in every single one of the mirrors surrounding him.

"Well then, shall we begin?" Haku asked. "I'll show you my real speed."

Sasuke saw it coming in slow motion. Haku shot out of one of the mirrors and headed right for him. However, unfortunately his body was not as quick to react as his eyes, and he had barely managed to raised his arms before the shoulder of his shirt was torn, and a cut appeared in his flesh. Then came another attack, and another, and another, all of them too fast for Sasuke to properly react to.

"Sasuke!" he heard Kakashi's voice from outside the dome as he covered his head with his arms.

"Sasuke-kun!" Hinata yelled, and Sasuke looked up to see Hinata throwing a kunai at one of the mirrors. However, Haku came halfway out of the mirror and caught it with ease. This was good, however, as it forced him to stop the attacks on Sasuke, who took this time to think things through.

'His speed is greater than mine... This jutsu... It obviously moves partly into space/time territory... Is he hitching a ride on the light reflecting off the mirrors? Tch, too many theories and not enough data... and I don't particularly fancy getting hit again just to find out more...' he thought, closing his eyes and thinking hard. 'Think... Think... I can take off my weights, but even then, I doubt I'd be fast enough... In here, I'm like a sitting duck... I can't try to run, even if I create a bunch of Kage Bunshin. Besides, my chakra stores aren't nearly as large as Naruto's, so I can't waste chakra on clones that will probably be killed, anyway... If only Hinata hadn't been forced to protect Tazuna, she could have attacked from the outside, while I attacked from the inside...'

"Now then," Haku's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he opened his eyes to see Haku in the mirrors again, "shall we continue?"

Sasuke screwed his eyes shut and waited for the pain. However, the only thing he noticed was a tremor in the ground, and then a heavy thud. He opened his eyes again and looked to the right, to see a wooden pole sticking out of the ground, and behind it was Haku, sprawled on the ground. Before Sasuke could recover from his surprise, Haku shot to his feet and dashed back into the mirror.

"Interesting jutsu you have there," came Naruto's voice from outside the dome (and Sasuke hated to admit it, but he had never before been so relieved to hear it). "A Hyouton Ninjutsu bloodline technique, utilizing not only nature manipulation, but also moving into space/time Ninjutsu territory. Water and Wind mixed to become Ice... It allows you to move from mirror to mirror at the speed of light wherever the light from your mirror can reflect... To cope with the speed, the jutsu also improves your senses. To you, it must look like everything around you is moving in slow motion..."

'Heh, that's what you can expect from Naruto,' Sasuke thought with a smirk. 'Dumb as hell in most areas, but when it comes to analyzing and breaking down chakra and its technique, he is one of the fastest thinkers around. He couldn't have been here for more than a few seconds...'

"However, like most jutsu, yours has flaws," Naruto continued, chuckling. "The biggest one is that although you can see out the back, there is no mirror across from you to catch you if you move out of it. The second is that there is only one of you. A sensor, like me, utilizing a Ninjutsu that reacts based on my thoughts, can easily predict from where you are going to strike based on your location. I admit, it was brilliant of you, leaving a chakra trace in every single mirror. However, you, the real one, will always carry chakra stores much larger than the other mirrors. You won't be able to attack Sasuke anymore. It's over."

"It... is over?" Haku repeated slowly. "I'm afraid not. Your friend is still within my dome. I will kill him if you try anything."

"Sasuke, you can see him, right?"

"In freaking slow motion, but I can't quite keep up."

"Remove the weights. I'll provide cover."

Sasuke smirked as he reached for his wrists, removing the chakra bracelets, and then reaching for his ankles, removing identical bracelets.

Haku came shooting out of another mirror, but stopped when another wooden pole shot up in front of him. He changed direction and shot into another mirror. It kept going like this for a while, Sasuke watching closely with his Sharingan as Haku shot out of mirror after mirror, getting blocked by Naruto's wood. He sat there, waiting for the perfect opportunity, and he knew Naruto was trying to create it.

There it was! Yet another wooden pole shot up, blocking Haku's path and forcing him to turn right, Sasuke's left. Sasuke, who was sure Haku had lost all focus on him by now, crossed the distance between them in two quick steps, his speed greatly increased after removing his weights, and spun, swinging his sword.

"I got you!" he exclaimed triumphantly as he felt his sword meet resistance, but cutting through it with ease. Upon completion of the swing, Haku's head was separated from his body. A millisecond after his death, the ice mirrors shattered, falling to the ground in a heap.

In a blur, Naruto appeared next to Sasuke, patting him on the shoulder.

"You alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You just killed someone," Naruto said. "Isn't your first kill supposed to be traumatic? It kind of was for me."

"There are things that are much more traumatic up here," Sasuke said as he pointed at his head.

Naruto accepted this as the truth. After all, Sasuke had seen much death in his past.

"Besides, I'm not a complete pussy like you, so I'm not really affected."

Usually, Naruto would have slugged Sasuke on the mouth for a comment like that, but now wasn't the time for that. So, he felt a change in subjects might be good.

"Can't believe _you_ lost in speed," he commented, grinning slightly.

"He cheated," Sasuke grumbled. "He helped himself along with space/time jutsu..."

"Very true," Naruto said with a chuckle as he turned to look into the mist in the direction of their teammates. "This is... strange..."

"What's the matter?" Sasuke asked.

"Zabuza isn't alone... There are eight more chakra signatures around him that weren't there before. Did Kakashi summon someone, you think?"

"Yeah. And it's not much, but the mist has cleared a bit," Sasuke said, nodding slowly. He gestured for Naruto to follow him, and they walked through the mist, until they reached the chakra signatures. There, the mist was clear enough for them to see what was going on. Zabuza was standing with Kakashi in front of him. Eight dogs that had seemingly sprouted from the ground were all biting down on Zabuza's limbs, sword, and shoulder, keeping him in place. Both Jounin's heads turned to stare at the two Genin, and Naruto raised a hand, waving at Kakashi.

"Yo, sensei! The kid has been taken care of!"

"Good work, Sasuke, Naruto," Kakashi said, smiling at them, before looking at Zabuza again. "I'll show you something, Zabuza... This is my own original technique. It's not a copy."

Kakashi went through three simple seals, and then grabbed his wrist and started channeling chakra into his hand with a call of "Raikiri (Lightning Cutter)!" The chakra, taking the form of electricity, started sparking around him hand, until the lightning covered his entire hand, which made Naruto and Sasuke go wide-eyed.

"Hey, hey, are you seeing that?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Y-Yeah... With chakra output on that level, and with the Lightning element no less... that should be able to cut through anything..."

"You're too dangerous," Kakashi told Zabuza, staring coldly at him. "Tazuna-san, who you're trying to kill, is this country's 'courage.' The bridge he seeks to build is this country's 'hope.' Your ambition sacrifices many people. That's not what a shinobi should do."

"I don't give a damn," Zabuza muttered. "I fight for my own ideals, and that shall continue!"

"I'll ask once more... Surrender," Kakashi advised. "Your future is death."

Zabuza, hardcore to the end, just grinned behind his bandages at Kakashi in defiance. Kakashi sighed, then dashed forward and punched his hand straight through Zabuza's heart. The large dog that had been latched onto Zabuza's shoulder jumped back just in time for Kakashi's hand to protrude from Zabuza's back.

And so ended the life of the terrifying Demon of the Bloody Mist, Momochi Zabuza. Naruto supposed that this was a worthy death for him, fighting the Copy Ninja Kakashi.

The lightning surrounding Kakashi's hand died down as Zabuza's eyes closed. The dogs poofed out of existence, and Kakashi lowered the man's body to the ground, pulling his hand out.

"Naruto-kun! Sasuke-kun!" Hinata yelled out in relief, only just now noticing her teammates, having been completely focused on Kakashi's fight with Zabuza.

"Chump had nothing on us!" Naruto exclaimed triumphantly, giving Hinata a thumbs up, but Sasuke wasn't so happy. He grunted and crossed his arms.

"So you say, but it took two of us to take down the one of him. And if he wanted, he could have just killed me upon the first attack. I wasn't fast enough to dodge him. He was holding back."

"Well, aren't you a moodkiller?" Naruto grumbled as the mist cleared completely... to show a very large group of thugs at the end of the bridge, with a very short man wearing glasses and a business suit at the front.

"Well, well," the short man said, a cruel grin on his face. "He talked big, but it seems Zabuza was nothing but a cute little devil after all..."

"You are... Gatou..." Kakashi spoke, which immediately caught the interest of his Genin.

"Thank you for killing Zabuza, saving me the trouble of doing so myself," Gatou said, still grinning. "Hiring normal ninja is too troublesome. Not only are they more expensive, but there's always the chance that they might betray me. So I hire missing-nin, and have them battle. Then, when both parties are weakened, I have them both killed with numbers. And now you, the Jounin, are tired and weakened, I can go through with my plan. How's-"

Gatou stopped rather suddenly and two kunai impacted with his forehead, piercing his brain. Kakashi looked over his shoulder to see that the throwers had been Naruto and Sasuke, who looked rather bored.

"I hate people who feel the need to brag about their plans..." Sasuke muttered, while the thugs, shocked, stared at Gatou's dead form, which had slumped to the ground.

"Hey, hey, hey!" one of them yelled out, a grin suddenly appearing on his face. "Damn ninja, you just killed our meal ticket! Now we're just gonna have to kill you, then pillage this village and take anything of value!"

He got yells of agreement from his companions as they all charged at the four ninja and the bridge builder. Then, an arrow was heard piercing the air, impacting with the bridge between the thugs and Team Seven, making the thugs stop suddenly, their eyes widening at the sight behind Team Seven and Tazuna. Everyone looked back to see Inari standing with pretty much every male villager behind him, all of them carrying weapons and various sharp tools and crossbows.

"If you come any further onto our island, the citizens of this country will stop you with everything we've got!"

Naruto managed to keep from insulting Inari by remarking upon the fact that the boy was wearing a wok pan for a helmet, and instead just flashed the kid a thumbs up.

"Nice timing, Inari!"

"Hehe, a hero shows up at the last second, right?" Inari said with a grin.

"Alright, let's help out increasing the numbers," Sasuke said, putting his hands in a cross seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

In a poof of smoke, seven more Sasuke appeared, all of them with identical smirks on their faces. Kakashi did the same, creating fifteen clones. Then came Naruto...

The entire bridge was filled with about forty Naruto Kage Bunshin, all of them grinning brightly at the now terrified thugs, who immediately turned around and ran back to the ship that had carried them there, some of them even jumping into the water out of fear.

"As usual, I'm amazed by the sheer number..." Sasuke muttered, sighing. "You sure do like to overkill, don't you?"

Naruto just grinned as they all dispelled their clones, and the villagers started cheering.

–

Hinata let out a "Ha!" as she attacked Naruto, who deflected the palm strike and countered with one of his own, which was dodged. It had been three weeks since the bridge was completed and Team Seven had returned to Konoha in triumph. Since the mission had been increased in rank, their mission history marked it as a B-rank, which would do wonders for them in the long run. After all, if they could complete a B-rank with no lasting injuries, a C-rank was nothing.

Sasuke appeared on training area seven in a blur and waved at his two sparring teammates.

"Hey, Naruto, I'm tagging in. The Hokage wants to see you."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, blinking as they both paused in their sparring, and Sasuke moved over, holding up his hand for Naruto to slap. "What for?"

"No idea. Kakashi told me to tell you that the Hokage wants to see you. That's all," Sasuke said, wiggling his hand. Naruto shrugged and slapped it with his own, tagging out as Sasuke took his place in front of Hinata, ready to continue the spar. Naruto flashed through handseals and performed a Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique), disappearing with a blur and reappearing outside the Sandaime's office window. He peered inside and saw that the old man was currently puffing contently on his pipe, reading that little orange book that Kakashi always read. Raising his hand, he knocked, making the old man jump and quickly hide the book in one of his desk drawers, looking toward Naruto, who waved happily.

"Ah, Naruto-kun," the Sandaime said after moving over to the window and opening it, allowing Naruto to climb inside. "Good of you to show up so fast."

"I heard you wanted to talk to me?" Naruto said, raising an eyebrow as he moved to stand in front of the Sandaime's desk. Unlike most ninja, he didn't stand at attention, instead slouching lazily with his hands in his pockets.

"Yes, I do... It is something very serious, an S-rank secret that has been kept since the day you were born."

"I get the feeling this isn't a good secret..." Naruto muttered, sighing.

"Naruto-kun, you have always wondered why you experience such hatred from the villagers, have you not?" the Sandaime asked, and Naruto immediately tensed at that, standing straighter and giving the Sandaime his full attention. Naruto thought hard about it, and several suspicions, which he and Sasuke had come up with growing up, surfaced in his mind.

"Since the day I was born..." he muttered, narrowing his eyes. "This wouldn't have anything to do with the Kyuubi, would it?"

"Indeed it does," the Sandaime said. "The official story in this village is that the Yondaime, your father, gave his life to kill the Kyuubi. That is not completely true. He gave his life, he died a hero, and he stopped the Kyuubi from destroying the village. However, he didn't kill it."

Naruto's eyes widened. "The mysterious seal on my stomach..."

"Yes, Naruto-kun. It is the seal that contains the Kyuubi, which Minato sealed into you."

"Why, though?" Naruto asked, furrowing his brow. "Why would he do that to me?"

"That, I can't answer. Well, partly, at least," the Sandaime said, puffing on his pipe. "I have been studying the sealing technique he used, the Shiki Fuujin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal), and I have come to realize something. Minato only sealed half the Kyuubi's chakra inside you, not because he wished to, but because it was both physically and conceptually impossible to seal it all. It was just too great. I arrived on the scene in time to see your mother holding down the Kyuubi with her special chakra, already dying. You see, she was once the container of the Kyuubi, and it was forcefully extracted from her. In the middle of the sealing, Kushina was weakened, and her grip on the Kyuubi was loosened. The Kyuubi attempted to kill you as soon as the opportunity presented itself."

"Keyword being attempted," Naruto said, crossing his arms. "You know, seeing as I'm still here."

"Indeed. Both Minato and Kushina jumped in front of the Kyuubi's claw and allowed it to pierce them instead of you. I know that you, like all orphans, have always wondered if they really loved you. That is the proof of their love."

"But no one knew about it, right?" Naruto asked, furrowing his brow again. "I mean, I have never heard anyone talk about how Uzumaki Kushina was the container of the Kyuubi... So why do people know about me?"

"It was impossible to keep the sealing completely secret, Naruto-kun. However, when I was reinstated as the Hokage upon Minato's death, I made a law stating that no one was to speak of you being the new container of the Kyuubi. The punishment for speaking of it was death. However, that did not seem to stop them from preventing their children from associating with you in other ways, I am sad to say..."

"Well, good thing you told me now, when I've been around Sasuke long enough to think about things and actually use logic sometimes," Naruto said, nodding. "Had you told me when I was younger, I probably would have freaked."

"I am actually amazed you are taking this so well," the Sandaime said, smiling proudly at Naruto. "I had expected a more surprised reaction."

"Well, Sasuke and I have theorized for years now," Naruto said with a shrug. "The subject of the Kyuubi has come up many times. Besides, this isn't the worst shock a kid could experience."

"It's not?" the Sandaime asked, his eyebrows rising in surprise.

"Nope. I heard a story from Kakashi about this kid in River Country who grew up calling his single parent 'mom,' only to later find out that she was an hermaphrodite, and was in actuality his 'dad'. Now _that's_ a shocker if I've ever heard one."

The Sandaime gave an exasperated sigh, but couldn't help but smile nonetheless. After all, leave it to Naruto to add even a small amount of humor to any situation.

"Well, in any case, it's actually a relief for me, to hear that they don't hate me for me, but rather the Kyuubi."

"So, what are you going to do now, Naruto-kun?" the Sandaime asked, stopping Naruto, who had opened the window and made to climb out. Naruto looked at the Sandaime with a grin on his face.

"That's obvious! I'm just gonna have to prove to them that I'm me, Senju Naruto, legacy of the Shodai, Nidaime, and Yondaime Hokage, future Rokudaime Hokage!"

"Rokudaime?" the Sandaime asked curiously. "Why not Godaime?"

"Well, let's face it, Jiji, you're getting up there in the years. You're probably gonna retire again soon, and I'm not strong enough to be Hokage yet," Naruto said with a shrug. Then, he waved at the old man and jumped out the window.

When he returned to the training area, he found that Kakashi was there, watching as Sasuke and Hinata sparred. Naruto walked up to stand beside his sensei and noticed that the two Genin had stepped up the game. Hinata's Byakugan was activated, Sasuke's sword was out, and his Sharingan was blazing. The two moved with amazing speed. Hell, even after such a short time, Naruto daresay that Hinata's speed rivaled his own. Not Sasuke's though. Sasuke had always been the fastest of the two of them, and it showed.

"Alright, I'd say that's enough," Kakashi announced once the two Genin froze, Sasuke's chokuto an inch away from Hinata's face. Both of them were panting softly, sweat on their faces as their respective Doujutsu deactivated. Kakashi glanced at Naruto. "Oh, welcome back, Naruto. How was your meeting with the Hokage?"

"It was good," Naruto said, nodding slowly. "Found out that my mom and dad died saving my life, and that my dad sealed the Kyuubi into my gut."

Hinata's eyes widened at hearing that, while Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly.

"The seal on your stomach," the Uchiha stated in realization. "It seems one of our theories was right."

"Yeah. It's a relief, though. The people hate me for the Kyuubi, and not for something like my personality or my name, or anything like that," Naruto said, a small smile on his face. He glanced at Hinata. "You don't seem very surprised."

"I... I have heard whispers about you," Hinata said softly. "I have heard people whisper Kyuubi when talking about you. I never really knew what they meant by that, but now I do."

"I'm glad to see you're all so mature about this," Kakashi said, smiling brightly at them all. "I had honestly expected a more violent reaction from at least you, Naruto."

"Eh, it was a shocker, but it was no hermaphrodite dad revelation," Naruto said with a shrug.

"Alright, I'm going to talk to you about some things," Kakashi said, gesturing for Sasuke and Hinata to come closer. "It's partially about your training, and partially about something I think you will find even more interesting."

"Well, are you going to tell us, or keep us in suspense?" Sasuke asked as he crossed his arms, which made Kakashi smile.

"I was thinking of making you beg to hear about it, but I guess you guys wouldn't do that. Alright, first of all, the training. I would have wanted to do some one-one one training with each of you, but things have come up. Hinata, I talked to Hiashi-sama about your progress. He expressed great disbelief, but wants you to come home for a spar with your sister." Hinata's eyes widened at the opportunity to show her father how strong she had gotten. "Sasuke, you will be training with me. We'll be doing some one-on-one, because I'm sure you couldn't help but copy my Raikiri when you saw it." Sasuke huffed and looked away, his way to show that he was a bit embarrassed at getting caught. "And Naruto, Jiraiya-sama of the Legendary Sannin has sent word that he will be coming to the village soon to oversee your training."

"Seems like we'll all be powerhouses once our training is complete, eh?" Sasuke asked, smirking, which made Naruto scoff in amusement.

"I'm already a powerhouse."

"Hm, it is true that at present, Naruto is probably the one who has the most power and stamina," Kakashi said, nodding. "However, Sasuke is much more experienced in Genjutsu, and possesses greater speed and a sharper mind. Hinata, I'm sorry to say, is not in the lead in any area. However, although it's unofficial, she possesses great knowledge in medicine, and will no doubt become an amazing Medic-Nin in time. Not to mention that her brain has the potential to become greater than any of yours," Kakashi said, rubbing his chin and seeing Hinata blush at the praise.

"Heh, no arguments here," Naruto said with a bright grin. "She's already smarter than me, and it won't be long until she leaves Sasuke in the dust in that field as well."

"As long as I'm satisfied with my own level of intelligence, I couldn't care less," Sasuke said simply. "Now, what was this thing we would find even more interesting?"

"Oh, yes," Kakashi said as he dug into his kunai pouch, taking out three pieces of paper and handing them over. "I nominated you all for the Chuunin Exams. It's in a week, so we won't be getting as much training in as you probably would have liked, but I think it's worth it. Though this is just a nomination. Whether to take the exam is up to each of you. Those who wish to take it should sign these papers and turn them in at room three-oh-one at the academy in a week's time at sixteen hundred hours."

"Um... are you sure we're ready for this?" Hinata asked after taking her application form and staring down at it. She looked up, however, as Kakashi placed a hand on her head.

"Hinata, I know you don't feel like you have contributed to this team, and so you probably feel like you're weak. However, this couldn't be farther from the truth. I have watched your training, and I'll tell you now. You're ready."

"Yeah, Hinata, listen to the cyclops-but-not-really-a-cyclops-because-he-actually-has-an-eye-under-the-headband," Naruto said with a grin. "Your speed rivals my own as it is, and with your Byakugan and Hyuuga Taijutsu, you're a force to be reckoned with!"

"And as we've already stated, you're much more intelligent than the blockhead," Sasuke said, jutting his thumb in Naruto's direction... only to get two fingers jabbed into his kidney, courtesy of said blockhead, making him sink to his knees, clutching at his side in pain.

So, later found Naruto and Sasuke walking through Konoha, coming from Sasuke's favorite dango shop. They had used rock-paper-scissors in order to decide whether to go to Ichiraku Ramen or Toyama Dango. Naruto, like almost always, lost.

"Just once, I'd like to get ramen..." Naruto muttered, chewing on the dango stick in his mouth.

"Yeah, well-" Sasuke started, but stopped when they heard a very familiar voice scream in fear. It was Konohamaru, the Hokage's grandson, who idolized Naruto and Sasuke. Their eyes widened as they took off toward Konohamaru's voice, only to sweatdrop when they landed on a tree branch and saw that Konohamaru and his two friends, Moegi and Udon, were being chased by none other than Haruno Sakura.

Then, Konohamaru, not looking where he was going, ran right into a man dressed in all black, wearing kabuki makeup, getting knocked on his ass.

"That hurt..." the kabuki man said, standing next to a blond girl who had her hair done up in four spiky ponytails. The man reached down and grabbed Konohamaru by the scarf and hoisted him into the air. "I said, that hurt, you little piece of shit!"

"Hey, Naruto," Sasuke muttered as Sakura started apologizing. "What do you make of them?"

"Sunagakure shinobi, judging by the forehead protectors, probably here for the Chuunin Exams," Naruto muttered back. "From the fan, I'd say the girl uses Fuuton Ninjutsu. The guy, whoever... What's that thing on his back?"

"No doubt some kind of tool..." Sasuke muttered. "Suna is known for their grasp on Fuuton Ninjutsu, and for their skills as puppeteers, so..."

"A puppet, then..."

"Most likely," Sasuke said with a nod, fishing a kunai out of his pouch. "Well, we better stop him from hurting our cute little underling."

He gave the kunai to Naruto, who took aim and threw it perfectly so that the ring on the bottom impacted with the puppeteer's thumb, making him drop Konohamaru and turn his head to look up at the two Genin.

"Hey now," Naruto said, crossing his arms as he sat down on the branch, "just because the Chuunin Exam has allowed you to enter our village, that doesn't mean you can just go around beating up our kids."

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried happily, which made Naruto scratch his head.

"And what am I, chopped liver?"

"Tch, more people who piss me off..." the kabuki man said as he grabbed the bundle on his back and set it down. "I hate show-offs like you two the most..."

"Hey, you're even going to use Karasu?" the girl asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Well, I can't say that I would mind a good brawl," Naruto said, then jutted his thumb in the direction of the tree trunk. "But I don't reckon he's keen."

"Kankuro, stop it," came a voice from the other side of the trunk. Standing upside-down on a branch was a red-haired teen around Naruto and Sasuke's age, his arms crossed. On his back was a very large gourd, which made both Naruto and Sasuke raise an eyebrow. "You're an embarrassment to our village."

The kabuki man, Kankuro, flinched.

"Losing control over yourself in a fight, how pathetic..." the redhead continued in a creepy, monotone voice. "Why do you think we came to Konoha?"

"Listen, Gaara, they started it, and-"

"Shut up... I'll kill you..."

Kankuro flinched again, and started visibly trembling now.

"O-Okay... I'm sorry..."

"I'm also sorry..." the girl said, smiling nervously. "Really sorry..."

"Sorry to you guys," Gaara the redhead said to Naruto and Sasuke, as the blond stood up and leaned against Sasuke's shoulder.

"Did you see his eyes?" he whispered as Gaara vanished in a swirl of sand, to reappear between Kankuro and the blond girl.

"Yeah..." Sasuke muttered. "They weren't exactly pleasant..."

The two jumped down when the Suna team turned away and walked off.

"Hey, you three," Sasuke said as they landed in front of the Konohamaru Corps and Sakura. "Your names?"

Gaara was quiet for a moment, staring at them. Then, he muttered, "Sabaku no Gaara. This is my sister, Temari, and my brother, Kankuro. I'm also interested in you two. Your names?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"Naruto. Haven't decided on what clan name to use yet, though."

The trio left, and Naruto and Sasuke were left staring at the spot where they had been previously.

"Naruto," Sasuke said, glancing at the blond. "That gourd-kid had creepy eyes. What do you make of him?"

"Tch, you think his eyes were creepy? You should have gotten a taste of his chakra. It was vile..."

"I guess we'll have to be careful around him..."

–

Hinata slowly exhaled as she stood in the training room in the Hyuuga Main Family manor. She had known that she had progressed with Naruto and Sasuke's training, but she didn't think she was this good. Her reactions had greatly improved. Hanabi's strikes seemed to move in slow motion now. Not to mention that those that actually hit didn't pack the same punch anymore, and Hinata's strikes were a lot stronger.

That was why Hanabi was on the mat, panting, and Hinata was standing, for the first time ever. She didn't even glance at her father, not wanting to see the pure surprise that she knew was visible on his face. He had never expected much of her, always calling her weak and a failure. She didn't want to see that such a thing was exactly what he had expected of her.

"That's enough," Hiashi said, and his voice clearly showed the surprise Hinata didn't want to see. "It would seem as though being placed on Kakashi's team paid off."

"Kakashi-sensei has taught me to work in a team, and showed me many ways to use my skills to their fullest potential, father," Hinata said, nodding slowly, still not looking at Hiashi. "However, I have my teammates to thank for my increase in said skills."

"The Uchiha and Uzumaki boys..." Hiashi muttered softly. "They have some use after all. To make someone like you capable of beating Hanabi."

Hinata fought to maintain her strong expression. Both Naruto and Sasuke's voices echoed in her head, things that they had said during their training sessions over the last few weeks.

"_Oi, Hinata! Don't be so meek all the time! You gotta show guts and energy, or no one will take you seriously!_"

"_Stand up for yourself. Your weakness is your lack of self-confidence, that's all._"

"_GUTS! Say it with me, come on, GUTS!_"

A smile slowly appeared on Hinata's face, and she turned to look at her father, who looked surprised at the confidence shining in her eyes.

"Just watch, father. I'll just become stronger and stronger!"

–

**So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Remember to leave a review!**

**Peace,**

**ZnK**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys! Fifth chapter here! In this chapter, Sasuke says he won't do something, yet he goes right ahead and does it and ends up embarrassing himself against a bowlcut. Fun times! Also, there have been many questions and suggestions as to the possible pairings, and I can tell you right now with utmost certainty that Hinata won't be paired with either of her teammates. Naruto belongs to someone else (no real idea who yet), and Sasuke... Well... Prepare for an announcement...**

**I'm telling you all right now so that you can stop reading now if you're uncomfortable with the prospect: Sasuke is gay in this story. No, there will be no bashing, there will be no romance between Naruto and Sasuke, or any real focus on Sasuke's sexual preference other than the occasional gay joke from Naruto or Sasuke putting Naruto in uncomfortable situations.**

**So if you're not cool with a gay character in a story, you may as well leave now.**

**But I reiterate, this is no Yaoi fic or anything like that. Sasuke is a great guy, a great friend, and an awesome shinobi. He just happens to find men attractive rather than women.**

**So, with that out of the way, on to the story!**

**Also, I'm making this another double chapter, because you guys are awesome!**

–

Team Seven stood in the academy, watching the commotion taking place before them. A large group of Genin were standing in front of the door to classroom three-oh-one, which was blocked by two cocky-looking Genin, who were beating up a team that were trying to make their way inside.

"Naruto," Sasuke said, nudging his friend, who nodded.

"Yeah, this entire corridor is covered in chakra. Definitely a Genjutsu."

"Well... even if you hadn't noticed it, people should notice the fact that we are just on the second floor..." Hinata said softly, though in a much stronger voice than Naruto and Sasuke were used to.

"Let's just slip by, nice and quiet," Sasuke said as he started walking. "This is probably something designed to weed out the weaklings."

They reached the third floor, and were heading for room three-oh-one, when a voice came from above them.

"Hey, you, the one with the dark eyes."

They all looked up at the catwalk above to see a kid wearing a very tight, green jumpsuit, and orange leg warmers. His black hair had a bowlcut style, and his eyebrows were amazingly thick. He was looking down at them, a very serious look on his face.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked in boredom.

"Will you... fight me right here?" the kid asked.

"A fight right now?" Sasuke asked, and the kid nodded, jumping down to their level, landing in a crouch.

"My name is Rock Lee. And you are Uchiha Sasuke."

"Heh, so you know?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I want to fight you," Rock Lee said. "I want to test my techniques against the offspring of the genius ninja clan."

"You're challenging me, even knowing the Uchiha name," Sasuke said, narrowing his eyes a smidgeon. "Frankly, you're a fool. You're about to learn what this name means, thick-brows..."

"Please," Rock Lee said, getting into a stance where he held one of his hands in a 'come on' gesture, the other hand behind his back. "I'll say this. You cannot defeat me. Because, right now I am the strongest Konoha Genin."

"Sounds fun, I'll do it," Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Um, Sasuke-kun, you really shouldn't," Hinata said, pointing up at the clock on the wall. "We only have thirty minutes to get to the meeting."

"Don't worry, I'll be done in five minutes," Sasuke said simply.

"Hey, hey, don't kill fellow Konoha ninja..." Naruto muttered.

"Kill?" Lee asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I have long since learned not to underestimate any opponent," Sasuke said as he reached behind his back, grabbing his chokuto. "I won't use Ninjutsu, as I don't want to destroy the academy. However, I won't go easy on you, thick-brows."

Sasuke charged forward, but before he could unsheathe his sword, Lee came at him with a spin kick, which forced him to duck. Lee didn't let up, however, instead spinning three-sixty degrees and lowering himself to aim another kick at Sasuke's ducking form with incredible speed.

'He's fast!' Sasuke thought, jumping over the kick and twisting in midair, bringing his heel down toward Lee, who pushed off the ground and leapt out of the way.

"That was fast," Sasuke commented as he rose to his feet. "You should feel proud of yourself. If we keep this up, and I don't use this, I won't keep up with you," he said, his irises turning red, two tomoe appearing in each eye.

Sasuke charged forward, brimming with confidence, only for Lee to duck and kick Sasuke up into the air without any effort, showing that he had been hiding his true speed all along, which made Sasuke grit his teeth as he flew through the air.

'Shit! What the hell was I talking about? I don't underestimate my opponents? You just did, you idiot!' Sasuke barked at himself in his mind.

"My techniques are neither Ninjutsu or Genjutsu," Lee said as he vanished, reappearing behind Sasuke in the air in a Kage Buyo (Shadow Dance). "Yes... my techniques are simple Taijutsu, Sasuke-kun. You may not believe it because it is so basic, but... They say that the Sharingan has the ability to reveal all types of Nin-, Gen-, and Taijutsu... It is true that by reading Ninjutsu and Genjutsu which need chakra to be raised and seals to be formed, you get an advantage through the Sharingan, but Taijutsu is a little different."

"What do you mean?"

"Even if you can read my movements with your eyes, your body does not have the speed to react to my Taijutsu. Basically, even if you can see it, if your body can't move, then it's useless."

The bandages on Lee's hands loosened as they flew through the air, and Naruto's eyes immediately landed on Lee's hands as the boy kept speaking to Sasuke, something about the difference between geniuses and hard workers. Lee's hands were covered in bruises and stitches, signs that he had been training non-stop for a long time. Naruto knew, because his own hands once looked like that.

Suddenly, a pinwheel flew through the air and pinned the bandages to the wall, stopping Lee in mid-air and causing him to fall to the ground, landing in a crouch, Sasuke flipping and landing in a crouch as well.

"That's far enough, Lee!" yelled a ninja turtle that had suddenly arrived on the scene, which had thrown the pinwheel.

"So, you were watching..." Lee muttered to the turtle in a kneeling position.

"Lee! That technique is forbidden!"

"I'm sorry... I just..." The turtle gave Lee a glare, making him flinch in fear. "B-But... I wasn't planning on using the other one..."

"Fool!" the turtle exclaimed, making Lee flinch yet again. "You think you can get away with an excuse like that?! You already know what it means for a ninja to reveal his special techniques!"

"Yes!"

"Are you prepared to pay?"

"Yes..."

"Then here comes Gai-sensei!"

An explosion of smoke erupted on the turtle's back, and when it cleared, an adult version of Rock Lee could be seen standing in a ridiculous pose, wearing a jounin vest.

"Geez! You guys are the epitome of adolescence!" the man yelled out, freaking the entire Team Seven out with his appearance. "Lee!" he said, gesturing for Lee to come closer. When he did, he was punched in the face with enough force to send him flying. "YOU FOOL!"

The man dropped down on one knee, staring sadly at Lee.

"You are... You are..."

"Sensei... I... I..."

"That's enough, Lee!" the man yelled, hugging Lee. "You don't need to say it!"

"Sensei!"

"Yes! This is what youth is all about!"

"Sensei!"

"What the hell are these freaks?" Sasuke muttered to Naruto, who crossed his arms.

"I have no idea... Creepy as hell, though..." Naruto said, staring in disgust at the two spandex-wearing ninjas. At hearing Naruto's words, the man, Gai, looked over at them, making all three of them flinch.

"Hey, you guys, how's Kakashi-sensei doing?"

"You know Kakashi?" Sasuke asked, surprised.

"Know him?" Gai asked with a chuckle. Then, in the blink of an eye, he disappeared and reappeared behind the trio. "People refer to us as eternal rivals... Fifty wins, forty-nine losses... I'm stronger than Kakashi... Sorry about Lee. I swear to this face it won't happen again. This beautiful face, that is. You guys should head over to the classroom," he said as he threw a kunai at the pinwheel, knocking the bandages loose and allowing Lee to rewrap his hands.

"Good luck, Lee! Later!"

With that, Gai vanished, while Lee gave a salute.

"Sasuke-kun," Lee said, looking to Sasuke. "I'll say one more thing. The truth is, I came here to test my abilities. I lied before. Most likely, the strongest Konoha genin is on my team. I've entered this to defeat him... and you're also one of my targets. Be prepared during the exam!" he exclaimed, before jumping up on the catwalk again.

"You are incredibly lucky no one was here to see that..." Naruto said, sighing in relief. "Especially after all that bragging about how you never underestimate an opponent."

"Shut it..." Sasuke muttered as he crossed his arms, his Sharingan deactivating. "He spoke so damn boldly, I thought he went all out from the start. I was wrong, alright?"

"See his hands?" Naruto asked, which made Hinata blink, while Sasuke nodded.

"His hands?" Hinata asked curiously.

"They were covered in bruises and stitches," Sasuke informed her.

"That guy has probably spent day after day training non-stop," Naruto chipped in, giving a low, impressed whistle. "Looks like there are some really strong ones in this exam, eh?"

"Heh... Sounds like fun," Sasuke said, turning around to smirk at his teammates. "Let's go, Naruto, Hinata!"

"Yeah!"

"Yes."

When they reached the door to room three-oh-one, they found Kakashi waiting outside, his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, good, all three of you came," he said, looking from each Genin to the next. "Now we can properly take the exam."

"What do you mean, sensei?" Hinata asked, blinking.

"The truth is that this test can only be taken by teams of three."

"But you said it was voluntary," Naruto muttered. "You lied?"

"If I had told the truth, there was the chance of one of you getting pressured into taking the exam," Kakashi explained. "This way, I could make sure that only those of you who truly felt ready to take the exam would come. If only one or two of you had shown up, then the exam would have ended right here for you. But you all came of your own free will," he said and smiled brightly at them. "You guys are my proud team. Now go!"

When the team stepped inside the classroom, they found that it was filled with Genin, all of whom turned to look at them as they entered.

"Is anyone else getting a feeling like we're being watched?" Naruto asked unnecessarily.

Suddenly, a blond missile that everyone recognized as Yamanaka Ino flew straight at Sasuke, hugging him from behind.

"Sasuke-kun, you're late!" she cried happily, blushing at merely touching Sasuke and putting on an extra seductive smile. "I haven't seen you for a while, so I've been waiting in excitement."

Now, Sasuke knew exactly how to crush a fangirl's advances. Therefore, he furrowed his brow, looked over his shoulder at Ino, and muttered, "Who are you?"

As expected, Ino's jaw dropped, her eyes widened, and her grip on him slackened, allowing him to move over to Naruto and Hinata, who shook their heads.

"What's this? You guys are taking this stupid test too?" came Shikamaru's voice as he approached with his best friend, Akimichi Chouji.

"Heh, I wouldn't have thought you had the energy to take this exam, Shikamaru," Naruto said with a chuckle, while Shikamaru sighed.

"It's troublesome, but Ino threatened our lives, so we had no choice."

"Yahoo! Found you!" came the voice of the ever jovial Kiba, approaching with Shino and Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said happily upon seeing Sasuke, who just looked away from her.

"Well, well, everyone is assembled."

"Geez, you guys too?" Shikamaru asked.

"I see... all nine of this year's rookie Genin are taking the exam," Kiba said, humming. "I wonder how far we will get. Eh, Sasuke, Naruto?"

"You seem confident, Kiba," Sasuke said with a scoff.

"We did a lot of training. We won't lose to you," Kiba said confidently.

"Hey, you guys, you should be more quiet," came a new voice, and they all looked to see a bespectacled teenager with gray hair in a ponytail approaching. He wore a Konoha hitai-ate, and looked like he couldn't be older than seventeen. "You guys are rookies just out of the academy, right? Screaming like school girls, geez... This isn't a picnic, you know."

"And who are you?" Sasuke asked.

"This guy gives me a creepy feeling..." Naruto muttered.

"I'm Kabuto. But instead of that, look behind you."

Everyone did so, and saw a team of Amegakure Genin glaring heatedly at them.

"Those guys behind you are from Amegakure no Sato. They have short tempers," Kabuto explained with a smile. "Everyone is nervous about the exam, so quiet down before you cause a scene. Well, I can't blame you. You're clueless rookies. You remind me of how I used to be."

"Kabuto-san, right?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah."

"So, this is your second time?"

"Nope. My seventh time," Kabuto said, smiling still. "This exam is held twice a year, so this is my fourth year."

"Wow, so you know a lot about this exam?"

"That's right," Kabuto said, nodding as he reached into his pocket and took out a deck of cards. "Tell you what, how about I share some info with you cute rookies... with these ninja info cards?"

"Ninja info cards?"

"They are basically cards that have info burned into them with chakra," Kabuto explained as he set the deck down on the floor. "I have four years' worth of info here, over two hundred cards..." He took one of the cards and set it down in front of him, face-up to show that the card was completely blank. "They look blank, but to open the info on these cards, you have to use my chakra. For example..."

Kabuto put his hand in a half-Ram seal, while the other hand was pressing a finger against the card on the floor. There was a poof of smoke, and when it cleared, it showed a map of the Elemental Countries, with several numbers written on it.

"Wow, a really easy to read graph," Sakura spoke in amazement. "What kind of info is this?"

"This is the number of those taking the exam, and the breakdown of what country they are from," Kabuto explained.

"Do you have cards with info on individuals?" Sasuke asked suddenly, making Kabuto chuckle.

"There are some guys you're worried about? Of course... The info on all of this exam's participants isn't perfect, but I do have it. Even of you guys. Say something about these guys and I'll take a look."

"Gaara of Sunagakure no Sato, and Rock Lee of Konohagakure no Sato."

"Oh, you know their names? Should be easy, then," Kabuto said and swiped three cards out of the deck, holding them up.

"Show me," Sasuke ordered.

"Okay, first is Rock Lee. He's a year older than you guys. Mission history: Twenty D-rank completed, twelve C-rank completed. His sensei is Maito Gai. His Taijutsu has improved greatly in this year. The rest is nothing impressive. Last year he gained attention as a talented new Genin, but he did not participate in the exam. Like you guys, this is his first time. On his team are Hyuuga Neji and Tenten," Kabuto said, putting the card back in the deck, before channeling his chakra into the second card. "Next is Sabaku no Gaara. Mission history: Eight C-rank completed, one B-rank. Wow, a B-rank mission as a genin... Since he's a newcomer from a foreign country, I don't have much info, but... it seems he returned from all of his missions without even a scratch."

"Alright, I'll bite," Kiba said. "Show me these three," he ordered, gesturing for Team Seven.

"Getting worried, Kiba?" Naruto asked with a small grin as Kabuto took three cards out of the deck.

"Alright, Team Seven of Konohagakure no Sato's rookies. Mission history: Twelve D-rank, and one B-rank mission completed. Wow, a B-rank here as well... All three of them have amazing stats, though Uchiha Sasuke is by far the speed demon, and Uzumaki Naruto is the powerhouse, with great strength, and a stamina that is off the charts. Sasuke is a bit more well-rounded, while Hyuuga Hinata is the weakest, although she has shown an amazing improvement in the last few weeks, and saying that she is the weakest of these three doesn't exactly make her the weakest of the rookies, not by a long shot."

Everyone were staring at Team Seven in a new light upon hearing this. Hinata was staring intently at a spot on the wall, trying not to pay attention to the staring, Sasuke was smirking, and Naruto was grinning.

"Konoha, Suna, Ame, Kusa, Taki, Oto... Many outstanding genin from the various Hidden Villages are here to take the exam. Well... Oto is a small village just created last year, so there isn't much info, but... the rest of the Hidden Villages are filled with talented youngsters," Kabuto said, making perspiration break out on Sakura's brow.

"So basically, all the people here are..."

"Yup!" Kabuto said with a smirk. "Like Lee, Gaara, Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata, they are the top elite from the various countries."

Naruto's well-trained eyes caught movement in the crowd, and he saw a ninja with an Oto headband flying through the air, throwing two kunai into the floor in front of Kabuto, making him jump back just in time for another Oto ninja, this one with his head covered in bandages, to appear in front of him, taking a swing at him. Kabuto dodged, smirking, but his glasses suddenly shattered, and he collapsed to his knees, throwing up.

The Oto team, joined by a young female, stood in front of Kabuto, radiating killer intent.

"Pathetic!" the bandaged ninja said. "Aren't you supposed to be a four-year veteran?"

"Write this down on your cards," the spiky-haired ninja with the three kanji for Death on his shirt said, smirking. "'The three Otogakure ninjas, definite future Chuunin.'"

An explosion of smoke went down at the front of the class, and a voice was heard.

"QUIET DOWN, YOU WORTHLESS BASTARDS! WHAT IS THIS?!"

The smoke cleared to show a large amount of ninjas. At the front stood a man in a black coat, his head covered by a bandanna. His face had two long scars going across it, giving him a real veteran-look.

"Thank you for waiting," the scarred man said with a smirk. "I am the examiner for the Chuunin Selection Exam's first test, Morino Ibiki." He reached out and pointed at the Oto ninjas. "Otogakure guys, stop doing as you please before the exam. Do you want to fail already?"

"I apologize... This is our first time... We got a bit carried away..." the bandaged ninja said, but his tone of voice clearly told everyone that his apology was nowhere near sincere.

Ibiki scoffed.

"Here's a good opportunity to say this... There will be no fighting without the permission of the examiner. Even if permission is granted, killing your opponent will not be tolerated. Those pigs that disobey me will be failed immediately. Do I make myself clear?"

There was no answer. Instead, everyone was just staring at Ibiki, who looked around.

"We will now start the first test in the Chuunin Exam. Instead of your current seating arrangements, you will pick out one of these tabs and sit in the seat assigned to you," Ibiki said, holding up a piece of wood with a number on in. "We will then hand out the exams."

"A paper test?" Naruto muttered to Sasuke, who smirked. Naruto had never been a big fan of paper tests.

The Genin did as told, and Naruto sat near the front, with Hinata next to him.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said, smiling at him. "Let's do our best."

"As always," Naruto said with a small grin.

"Do not turn your tests over," Ibiki said, holding up a piece of chalk. "Listen closely to what I'm about to say," he said and started writing on the blackboard. "There are many important rules to this first test. I'll write it on the board while I explain, but questions will not be allowed, so listen carefully. The first rule... You guys will all start off with ten points. The test is made up of ten questions and each one is worth a point, but... This test uses a subtraction system. Basically, if you answer all the questions correctly, you keep your ten points. But say if you miss three questions, you will lose three points and will have seven. The second rule... This is a team test. Whether you pass or not will be determined by the combined score of your teammates. So, each team will compete to see how many points they can hold on to from the initial total of thirty."

"Wait a second!" Sakura shouted. "I don't understand this initial points system either, but why is it a team test?!"

"Shut up. You don't have the right to question me. There is a reason for this. Be quiet and listen," Ibiki said, narrowing his eyes. "Okay, and the most important rule. The third rule is that during the exam... anyone caught by the testing officers, doing sneaky activities, namely cheating... will have two points subtracted for every offense." he said, smirking in a decidedly evil-looking way. "Realize that the pathetic ones that get caught cheating will be destroying themselves. As shinobi trying to achieve the level of Chuunin, be proud ninjas!"

Naruto perked up at that. There was something strange about that statement, but he didn't put much thought into it.

"And the final rule... Those that lose all their initial points during the test and those that don't answer any questions correctly... will be failed along with their two teammates!" Ibiki exclaimed, shocking the Genin. "The exam will last one hour... BEGIN!"

Naruto turned over his test, and raised an eyebrow. These weren't questions that anyone could answer. Pretty much only a brainiac could answer those question without any trouble. Like Sasuke, or Hinata, or Sakura... Naruto could answer many things about being a ninja, he could do most of the things in the questions, but he couldn't exactly calculate, with numbers, how hard he'd have to throw a kunai, and in what angle, to hit an opponent three hundred feet away. That crap was all instinct...

A smirk appeared on his face. He glanced over at someone who was filling out his test at a high speed. He waited until the guy was finished, setting his pen down on the desk with a proud smile on his face.

Naruto's smirk widened.

'Time to pass the test, and take out some opposition in the process,' he thought as he focused. A smoke bomb rolled out of his sleeve and exploded upon impacting with the ground, erupting in a smoke so thick that you couldn't even see three inches ahead of yourself. Roars of anger could be heard throughout the classroom as no one could see their tests.

Windows were opened, letting the smoke out, and once it was cleared, more cries of anger could be heard. Naruto was filling out his test, and was chuckling to himself. Several people in the room had suddenly lost their test.

Very impressed, Ibiki held up his hand for silence. "Everyone who's lost their test might as well get out. You fail, along with your team."

With growling protests, the people who'd lost their tests were ushered out of the room, along with their teams.

'Though I'm interested in learning who, exactly, did that...' Ibiki thought as he looked around the room, locking eyes with one Uzumaki Naruto, who was dressed in a Nidaime-like shirt, and wore a very similar happuri. A smirk slowly appeared on his face when he saw that Naruto had already finished his test.

Forty-five minutes later, Ibiki looked at the clock on the wall, and nodded to himself. "Okay, and now... we will begin the tenth question. Now... Before we get to it, I'd like to go over the added rules for this question."

Shock went through the Genin as the door opened, and Kankuro, the puppet user from Suna, who'd been to the bathroom, entered the room.

"Heh... Nice timing..." Ibiki said, smirking. "Was your doll playing beneficial?"

The puppet user twitched, surprised that he'd been caught.

"Just sit down..." Ibiki said, and the puppet user complied. "I'll now explain... These are the rules of desperation... First, for this tenth question. You must decide whether you will take it or not."

"Choose?!" Temari from Suna shouted. "What happens if we choose not to?!"

Ibiki chuckled darkly.

"If you choose not to, your points will be reduced to zero... You'll fail, along with your two teammates!"

Everyone started to shout about how, of course, they were going to take it, but Ibiki interrupted them all.

"And now... the other rule," he said, silencing them all. "If you choose to take it, and answer incorrectly... That person will lose the right to ever take the Chuunin Selection Exam again."

"What kind of stupid rule is that?!" Kiba roared. "There are guys here who have taken the exam before!"

Ibiki chuckled darkly again, only this chuckle was the kind one would use in front of someone when taking extreme pleasure in ripping their guts out.

"You guys were unlucky. This year, it's my rules. But I am giving you a way out. Those that aren't confident can choose not to take it, and try again next year," he said, smirking at them all. "Now, let's begin the tenth question. Those that do not wish to take it, raise your hand. Once your number is confirmed, leave."

'I can do this,' Naruto thought, closing his eyes. 'There's no way I can lose... I refuse to lose... I'm gonna become Hokage one day. I can't stop here!' he thought as he turned his head, looking to Sasuke, who had a determined look on his face. Next, he looked at a nervous Hinata, who looked at him. Grinning, he flashed her a thumbs up, which seemed to fill her with renewed confidence.

Several Genin quit, causing their teams to quit as well. Then, when it seemed like no one else was going to quit, Ibiki spoke up.

"Alright, does anyone else want to quit?"

No one answered.

"Well then, to the fifty-seven who remain... Congratulations on passing the first test!"

Everyone froze, staring at him, shocked.

"Wait... What do you mean?" Sakura asked, wiping sweat from her bigger than average brow. "We already pass? What about the tenth question?"

Ibiki grinned in a friendly manner, which was strange, since everything about him was anything but friendly.

"There never was such a thing. Or, you could say that those two choices were the tenth question."

"Hey! Then what were the first nine questions for?!" Temari shouted. "They were pointless, then!"

"They were not pointless..." Ibiki said, letting out a chuckle. "They had already served their intended purpose," he said, turning serious. "To test your individual information gathering ability. That purpose."

Naruto smiled. He aced that test.

"First, as the rules explained, success on this test is based on the whole team doing well. This puts pressure on each member not to mess things up for their teammates," Ibiki explained, looking over the genins. "But the questions on this test were not the types that a mere Genin could answer. Because of that, I'm sure most of the people came to the conclusion that to score points, you'd have to cheat. Basically, the premise of this test is to cheat. As cheating targets, we had two or so Chuunin, who knew all the answers, mixed into the crowd. To help you guys out."

"Piece of cake," Naruto said, smirking. Ibiki chuckled and started untying his bandanna.

"But those who cheat poorly... fail, of course," he said and removed the bandanna, causing many of the Genin to recoil in fright. His head was covered with horrible burns, screw holes, and scars. "Because... at times, information is more important than life. And on missions and the battlefield, people risk their lives to get their hands on it."

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

'This guy has been through a lot,' he thought, his respect for the man rising. 'A real veteran.'

"If the enemy or third party notices you, there is no guarantee the info will be accurate," Ibiki said as he put on his bandanna again. "I want you to remember this. Important information in your hands can be a powerful weapon for your comrades and for the village. So, we had you gather information through cheating. This clearly separated those that did not have the right abilities."

"But... I don't understand the final question," Temari said, making Ibiki smile.

"But... question ten... is the true purpose of this test. Let me explain. The tenth question, the take it or not take it decision... Obviously, these were painful choices. Those who choose the latter fail along with their teammates. Those who choose to take it could lose the chance to ever take the test again. A true leap of faith."

Naruto nodded to himself. It was a very good way to weed out those who couldn't take the pressure.

"How about these two choices... say you guys become Chuunin... Your mission is to steal a secret document. The amount of ninjas, their abilities, et cetera, is unknown to you. And, of course, there could be traps set all around you. Now, do you accept, or not accept?" Ibiki asked, turning serious once more. Naruto was starting to get pissed off. Was this guy bipolar?! "Because you don't want to die... because you don't want your comrades hurt... can you avoid the dangerous mission? The answer is no! No matter what the danger, there are missions you can't avoid. The ability to be courageous... and survive any hardship... This is the ability needed to become a Chuunin captain! Those who can't put their destinies on the line... who cling to the uncertain future of 'there's always next year,' and then walk away from their chance... Those pieces of trash, who can only make such cowardly choices, don't have the right to become a Chuunin! That's how I feel. Those who chose to take it... answered the tough tenth question correctly. You will be able to survive any troubles you face in the future. You have made it through the entrance. The first test of the Chuunin Selection Exam is now finished. I wish you guys luck."

Suddenly, something caught Ibiki's eye, and he stepped back just in time for a ball of cloth to come flying through the window. Two kunai flew out of the bundle of cloth and stuck to the ceiling, unfurling the cloth, revealing a purple haired woman wearing a tan trench coat. On the cloth was the text, 'Second exam proctor Mitarashi Anko.'

"You guys! This is no time to be celebrating!" the woman, obviously named Mitarashi Anko, exclaimed. "I am the examiner for the second test, Mitarashi Anko! The hard part starts here! Are you ready?!" she shouted and pumped her fist into the air. Ibiki came out from behind the cloth.

"Grasp the atmosphere..."

Anko blushed, but looked around, raising an eyebrow. Then, she turned to Ibiki.

"Fifty-seven?! Ibiki! You left nineteen teams?! The test was too easy this time!"

Ibiki shrugged.

"This time, there are a lot of outstanding ones," he said, getting a scoff from Anko.

"Bah! That's fine. I'll at least cut them in half in the second test," she said, causing the Genin to sweat. Then, when they saw her shiver and smirk, they almost freaked out. "Ah... I'm getting excited... I'll explain everything once we've changed places. Follow me."

–

The Genin were standing in front of a huge forest, which was surrounded by a huge fence.

Welcome to the stage for the second test, training area forty-four," Anko said, smirking at them all, "also known as the Forest of Death."

"Looks kind of intimidating, doesn't it?" Hinata asked her teammates quietly, while Anko just kept smirking.

"You'll soon find out... why it's called that."

Naruto snorted. "Like that'll scare us!"

Anko smiled at him. "You're spirited."

Quicker than most Genin could react, a kunai ended up in her hand, and Naruto only had the chance to see the glint of steel, as his hand flew up on pure instinct and caught the kunai, spinning around to place it at Anko's throat as she blurred into view behind him, looking pleasantly surprised, even more so upon noticing that Sasuke had already unsheathed his chokuto and placed it against the back of her neck.

"Hoho, you boys are fast!" she said with a grin, looking from Sasuke to Naruto. "I guess you're not all talk after all, eh?"

Sasuke scoffed and sheathed his chokuto again, while Naruto handed the kunai back to Anko, who grinned.

"Well, looks like we have some potential in this test," Anko said, smirking as she walked to the front of the Genin. "This should be fun," she said, reaching into her coat and taking out a wad of papers. "Now, before we start the second test, there's something I have to pass out. You must sign these agreement forms."

"What for?" Naruto asked as he took the wad of papers she handed him, taking one and handing the stack to Sasuke, who did the same to Hinata.

"There will be deaths in this one... and if I don't have you sign these, it will all be my responsibility," Anko explained, chuckling. "I'm going to explain the second test. Then, you can sign it afterward, and then, each team will check in at that booth behind me."

Anko pointed at a booth near the fence, where three bored looking chunnins sat, obviously wanting to be somewhere else.

"I'll now explain the second test. Simply put, you will attempt the ultimate survival."

Shikamaru sighed. "Survival... This test sucks..."

"First, I'll explain the area, in which it will take place," Anko said and unfurled a scroll, showing a map of the forest. "Around the Forest of Death are forty-four locked gates. Forest, river, and a tower in the center. From the gates to the tower, it's around ten kilometers. During the survival in here, you will be asked to complete a certain task. Using your many weapons and jutsu, you will compete in a... no rules... scroll battle."

"Scroll?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," Anko said with a nod as she held out two scrolls. "You will fight over these two scrolls, the Heaven and Earth. There are fifty-seven people here, meaning, nineteen teams. Ten of you will get the Heaven scroll, and the other nine teams will each get the Earth scroll. To pass this test, your team must make it to the tower with both scrolls."

"So, nine teams will lose their scrolls..." Shikamaru muttered. "At least half the teams will definitely fail..."

"But there's a time limit," Anko continued. "This second test will last one hundred and twenty hours. Exactly five days."

"FIVE DAYS?!" Ino exclaimed, wide eyed.

"WHAT ABOUT DINNER?!" Chouji roared, shocked.

"You're on your own. The forest is full of food. Just watch out for man-eating beasts, poisonous insects, poisonous plants, etc," Anko said, smiling cruelly. "And nine teams passing is not likely. As the days go on, the distance to the goal will become farther, and the time to rest will become shorter. And the area is crawling with enemies. You won't get much sleep. So, not only will some fail by losing the scroll, but some will die from the harshness of the course," she explained, before holding up her hand. "Now, I'll talk about what will disqualify you." She raised a finger. "First, those that don't make it to the tower with both scrolls within the time limit." She raised another finger. "Second, those who lose a teammate or those who have a teammate killed. As a rule, there is no quitting in the middle. You will be in the forest for five days, or less, depending on when you get to the tower. And one more rule... You must not look inside the scroll until you make it to the tower."

"What happens if you do?" Sasuke asked out of curiosity, getting a smirk from Anko.

"That will be a surprise for anyone who does. A Chuunin will be asked to handle classified information. This is to test your trustworthiness. That's it for the explanations. Exchange the three forms for your scroll, then choose a gate to get ready for the start," Anko said, before grinning at them all. "A final word of advice... Don't die."

"Well, no shit..." Naruto muttered as the Chuunin in the booth covered it with a curtain.

"It's about time to exchange for the scrolls," one of them announced.

"You can't tell which team gets which scroll... or who on the team is carrying it..." Sasuke muttered to his teammates as he stared at the covered booth.

"Yes... Everyone's an enemy... Everyone's determined..." Hinata mumbled nervously.

"Hinata, it'll be alright," Naruto said, putting a hand on Hinata's should and smiling at her. "We're strong, remember? Besides, with your eyes, and my sensor skills, no one will be able to sneak up on us. We'll always have the advantage."

Naruto and his team went to the booth, got a Heaven scroll, and then headed off, ready to enter gate twelve, where an instructor was waiting, unlocking it.

"The second exam begins now!" was suddenly heard in the speakers, and the instructor opened the gate, allowing them to enter, which they did, speeding inside.

After a couple of minutes of running, a scream was already heard. Team Seven stopped at that. It seemed like at least three people were in a lot of pain.

"That's one team down..." Sasuke muttered, narrowing his eyes. "One scroll lost... Naruto, don't slack off for even a nanosecond, alright? We all need to constantly be on our guard for this."

"I started molding chakra before we even stepped through the gate," Naruto said, his hands in his pockets. "You don't need to tell me how serious this is. I know where everyone is in this forest."

"Who's closest?"

"There's a team about half a klick to the north-west. They're the closest, but I wouldn't go for them," Naruto said, narrowing his eyes as he stared into the woods.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, one of the people on that team has an enormous amount of chakra. Close to my own level, actually..."

"Tch... Is it that Gaara freak?"

"No, this chakra is, if possible, even more sinister than Gaara's. This guy's a definite freak..." Naruto said, looking around. "Well, I don't sense anyone nearby, so this is probably a good opportunity to sit down and get some strategies down."

This immediately caught Sasuke and Hinata's attention, as although Naruto was always willing to use the strategies Sasuke came up with, he was never the one to suggest it. Therefore, they immediately followed his lead and sat down.

"Well, I think I have him pretty confident now," Naruto muttered softly, glancing at Hinata. "Byakugan, my five o'clock, thirty-five meters."

Hinata activated her Byakugan, having progressed enough to not need handseals in order to activate it, and used it to check the spot Naruto had pointed out. There, on a tree branch, she saw the ninja who was stalking them.

"Amegakure ninja," Hinata said softly. "I see no weapons on him, so it's safe to say he specializes in either Ninjutsu or Genjutsu..."

"He's alone?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto nodded, Hinata doing the same. "He's probably waiting for a chance to pick us off one-by-one. He's waiting for us to separate enough to attack... We should get him to come to us."

"Well, you're the strategist of the team! Make some damn plans!" Naruto said loudly, as though an entirely different conversation had just taken place, as he got to his feet, scratching the back of his head. "I gotta take a piss. I'll be right back."

With that, Naruto headed off to stand behind a tree, pretending to unzip his pants as he leaned back against the tree. His senses were on high alert, so he could easily sense the Ame ninja moving over toward him, then leaping at the blond, who just smirked.

"Gotcha," he said softly and looked up at the visibly surprised Ame ninja, just in time for a wooden pole to shoot out of the tree, wrapping around him and pulling him down, slamming his head hard into the tree and knocking him out. Naruto focused his chakra into the tree, and more wood came shooting out of it, wrapping so tightly around the unconscious Ame ninja that it would have been impossible for him to break out. His job done, Naruto headed back to Sasuke and Hinata.

"Well, that's one enemy down," he announced happily.

"Did... Did he have a scroll?" Hinata asked.

"These are all three-man teams, yet only one attacker. I doubt they'd let the attacker handle the scroll," Sasuke said, shaking his head. "Let's keep moving."

The three took off, but after an hour of running, Naruto suddenly signaled for them to stop.

"Let's talk," he said and promptly sat down. The others looked at each other strangely, but did the same. Naruto sighed. "That freak is here," he muttered quietly, making sure the freak with the massive chakra wouldn't hear him. Then, he spoke again, but louder this time, "Alright, we need a plan. If we get separated, even if it's one of us, don't trust anyone who appears."

"Then what do we do?" Hinata asked nervously. Sasuke put a hand on his chin, thinking hard.

"We'll make a codeword. If whoever shows up gets the codeword wrong, assume they are the enemy, no matter what they look like. Listen carefully. I'll only say this once. The Nin song, 'Nin Machine...' When this is asked, answer with, 'A large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi. Hide and remain silent. A shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill prepared.'"

Naruto and Hinata both nodded, telling him that they'd memorized it.

"In reality, just say we don't have time for codewords," Sasuke said quietly as he got up, along with the others. "I'll hold the scroll," he said louder.

They were about to walk off when Naruto stopped, looking to the east with a look of concentration on his face. Sasuke glanced at him.

"What's wrong, Naruto?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes, staring hard into the darkness of the forest for a while, before sighing, shaking his head and saying, "It's nothing. I guess it was just my imagi-" Naruto's eyes widened when his cheek was suddenly cut by a gust of wind. "It's a Fuuton jutsu! Get down!" he exclaimed as he rushed his team, pushing them into the bushes, just as a huge blast of wind came through the clearing, sending Naruto flying off.

As the blast died down, Sasuke, who was laying in the bushes with Hinata, trying to spot the enemy, sighed. 'Thanks, Naruto.'

Seeing no one, they got up, and Hinata activated her Byakugan to scan the area, nudging Sasuke and pointing in the direction the blast had flung Naruto. They both looked, and saw Naruto approaching.

"Damn, that one hurt," Naruto muttered as he came walking up to them, rubbing his head. "If I find whoever did that, I'm gonna introduce him to a whole new world of pain..."

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said softly as she and Sasuke got into a combative stance. "Wait a second. The codeword!"

"I know," Naruto said, nodding. "A large amount of loud enemies is the friend of the shinobi. Hide and remain silent. A shinobi must understand the proper time, when the enemy is tired and ill prepared."

Sasuke smirked at that. Then, without warning, he threw his kunai at Naruto, who went wide-eyed and dodged.

"What the hell are you doing, you idiot?!" Naruto growled as he narrowed his eyes.

"So, it's someone who can dodge my attacks..."

Naruto smirked, and was suddenly enveloped by smoke. "Impressive that you knew," came a feminine voice from the smoke. When the smoke cleared, they saw the straw hat-wearing Kusa ninja standing where Naruto had once been. "How did you know that I was a fake?"

"Naruto sensed your freakishly large chakra supply a mile off," Sasuke said, smirking right back. "There was no way he couldn't sense you so close to us. We knew you were listening in, so while we said the codeword would be the nin-song, we actually made it something else."

The man chuckled as he removed his straw hat. "I see... Neither tired nor ill prepared, are we?" he asked with a smirk. "This will be more fun than I thought..."

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Naruto was on the ground, panting slightly. His forearms had several cuts on them, and the abdomen of his shirt was torn in some places, along with his legs. In front of him, the ground was completely torn apart, and several wooden walls had also been completely torn up.

"That was one powerful jutsu..." he muttered as he sighed. "Even when I blocked it with my Mokuton, it still managed to cut me..."

Naruto got up, staring down the trail of destruction caused by the jutsu. 'But... that wasn't something a Genin could accomplish... Hell, most of my jutsu aren't even that strong...'

His surroundings got darker, and he looked down at the ground to see a large shadow above him, and he looked up, finding the biggest snake he'd ever seen staring down at him. He stared into its eyes, and suddenly went wide-eyed, when the snake's tail came flying at him.

Naruto jumped into the air with a yell of something that sounded like "Hufflurger-burber!" in time for the ground to pretty much explode from the power of the hit with the tail.

The snake coiled up and sprung at Naruto, its maw opened and ready to swallow him.

Unable to dodge in the air, Naruto growled and formed a Serpent seal. Suddenly, his cheeks puffed out, and he smirked.

'Take this!' he thought as he fired a high-pressured jet of water from his mouth. The water cut the snake right down the middle, causing it to split, and completely miss crashing into Naruto, who landed gracefully.

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes widened as his senses picked up on a massive amount of killer intent, coming from where Team Seven had been before the jutsu hit them.

'W-What... What is this massive KI?' he thought as he looked down at his hand. It was shaking violently. 'Even at this distance, I'm... This is twenty times worse than Zabuza and Kakashi combined...'

Meanwhile, with Sasuke and Hinata, the two were staring into the eyes of the scary Kusa ninja. They'd both seen some sort of image of their own death, causing Sasuke to vomit.

'G-Genjutsu...?' Sasuke thought as he stared wide-eyed at the Kusa ninja. 'N-No... This is just fear... The killing intent in his eyes is causing us to see an image of death... Who is this guy?!'

"Hinata..." Sasuke glanced at his teammate, to see tears flowing down her cheeks as she trembled violently. 'This is bad... We must run... Otherwise... there's only death!'

The Kusa ninja chuckled. "You can no longer move..."

Sasuke gripped the kunai in his hand tightly as he shook with fear. 'No... I can...' His arm moved a little, and he stared down at his hand. 'Move... Move... Move, move, move, move!'

The Kusa ninja smirked as he raised two kunai, casually flicking them at the two Genin, making Sasuke's eyes widen.

'Damn it, MOVE!'

Suddenly, Sasuke stabbed the kunai into his thigh and rushed at Hinata, getting her out of the way of the kunai's path, before jumping off to hide in the trees. The Kusa ninja walked over to the blood splatter that resulted from the stabbing with mild interest, before smirking, looking up into the trees.

'To injure his own body to erase the feeling of fear with pain... As I though, he's no ordinary prey.'

Meanwhile, Sasuke was sitting in a big tree with Hinata, ripping the kunai out of his thigh with a grunt.

"Sasuke-kun, are you alri-" Hinata started, only for Sasuke to cover her mouth, looking down on the forest floor.

'We must run before we are found again... But how...? How can we run away?' he thought, still trembling with fear. 'That guy...'

'For Sasuke-kun to panic this much...' Hinata thought, staring at Sasuke in shock. 'I've never seen him like this.' Suddenly, she noticed something, and tried to speak, but Sasuke was still covering her mouth. Removing it, she spoke up. "Sasuke-kun! Snake!"

Sasuke turned, and saw a huge snake come down at them. They both jumped away, and the snake set its sights on Sasuke.

'Damn it... I was panicking so much, I didn't notice the snake!' Sasuke thought as the snake wrapped around the tree branch, before shooting off toward Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he stared into the snake's eyes, and felt the same killer intent as before. He let out a fearful cry as he threw eight shuriken at the open maw of the snake with incredible force. The shuriken tore through the snake's head, and it stopped its charge, falling down and smashing against a tree branch, covering it in blood.

Sasuke and Hinata's eyes widened when the scales on the snake were torn open, and a person rose from it. It was the Kusa ninja. "You guys shouldn't relax, even for a moment. Prey should always be trying their best to run away..." he trailed off as his tongue came out of his mouth, licking his lips. "...in the presence of a predator, that is."

Like a snake, the Kusa ninja's legs stretched like rubber, and he wrapped around the branch Sasuke had landed on, charging the Uchiha. However, he stopped when a kunai dug into the branch, with an exploding note hanging from the ring.

"What-"

The note exploded, sending the Kusa ninja flying. Sasuke sighed with relief.

"Naruto..." he muttered. "Naruto! Don't be a hero! This guy is different!"

"Tch," came Naruto's voice from his left, making his head snap in that direction to see Naruto standing there. "Look at you. Too afraid to even notice me approaching..."

"So, you got past my snake, Naruto-kun?" the Kusa-nin asked, standing on the forest floor and looking up at them. Naruto squatted, his elbows against his knees, as he looked down at the ninja.

"Sasuke," he spoke softly. "If we run, this guy will just pick us off one-by-one. We have to fight right here. We have to give it our all."

"Don't be an idiot!" Sasuke barked. "You, of all people, should feel how-"

Sasuke stopped, as Naruto had suddenly shot up, grabbed his collar, and slapped him.

"Hey, you friggin' idiot, snap out of it! You're acting like a little crybaby!"

Sasuke's eyes were wide with shock, still reeling from the surprise of actually getting slapped. Sure, he could handle being punched, kicked, and even stabbed... but slapped? He blinked owlishly a couple of times, but then smiled softly.

'Gotta give Naruto credit... He has no common sense whatsoever. Although... in this situation, common sense would probably just get in the way... Thanks, Naruto...'

A smirk made its way onto Sasuke's face as his Sharingan activated, and he turned his head to stare down at the Kusa-nin as well.

"Alright, you moron. We'll do it your way for once."

Another slap sounded, and everyone could see a wide-eyed Sasuke reeling from yet another slap to the face.

"The hell are you doing?!" Sasuke barked angrily, but Naruto grinned.

"Well, I had you in this position, I just couldn't resist..."

Sasuke twitched. 'Damn Naruto... Can blow the fear out of any situation...' he thought, sighing. Then, he looked at Hinata, who was standing some distance away, looking unsure what to do. "Hinata, you're our backup and support. If one of us gets injured, get right to healing it, alright?"

"A-Alright, Sasuke-kun!" Hinata said, nodding.

"So, what've you got?" Naruto asked as he let go of Sasuke and looked down at the Kusa-nin again. Sasuke closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts for a second. It was obvious that the Kusa-nin was just toying with them, or he would have attacked a long time ago... What was his game?

"He's got intense chakra. He can manipulate it well, given that powerful Fuuton Ninjutsu he used, and that freaky stretch-thing he does with his body and tongue. Not to mention he managed to swallow his freaking Earth scroll."

"And he can summon," Naruto supplied. "Since he could summon a freakishly large snake and sic it on me, there's a good chance he can summon more."

"A guy that well-trained in Ninjutsu and chakra manipulation... chances are he's just as good at Genjutsu, which would probably make Taijutsu his weak point, hopefully, unless he's well-rounded enough to be good at _that_, too," Sasuke concluded, which made the Kusa-nin chuckle creepily.

"An apt analysis, and a correct one," he said, smirking up at them. "Although Taijutsu is my weakest point, I'm by no means a slouch, and it would be foolish of you to assume such a thing. Now that you have mustered your courage, I expect you to give this your all."

"Triple Rodeo, you think?" Naruto asked, to which Sasuke nodded.

"In this setting? Definitely."

Naruto grinned and formed a Serpent seal.

Suddenly, wooden spikes shot out of the ground under the Kusa-nin, forcing him to jump up onto the trunk of a tree behind him.

"So, the rumors are true... Mokuton Ninjutsu..."

More spikes shot out of the tree the Kusa-nin was standing on, making him jump off again. In the air, he noticed Sasuke above him, finishing a chain of handseals in a Tiger seal.

"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu (Fire Element: Dragon Fire Technique)!" Sasuke called out as he brought his hand to his mouth and blew a stream of fire at the Kusa-nin, whose eyes widened as the flame burned hot enough to turn white. The fire impacted with the ninja and smashed him down into the forest floor, whereupon he was impaled by six wooden spikes, only to disappear in a poof of smoke.

"Kage Bunshin!" Sasuke growled out through gritted teeth as he landed on a tree branch, looking around. "So, where's the real one?"

"Sasuke, above you!" Naruto yelled out, and Sasuke's eyes widened. Before he even looked up, he was already flashing through handseals.

"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!" he called out as he leaned his head back and saw the Kusa-nin diving at him. He blew another stream of white hot flames at him, but the ninja was prepared for it, yanking a ninja wire in his hand and pulling him out of the way of the fire.

What the Kusa-nin didn't count on, however, was that as he flew through the air, Naruto appeared above him, his fist cocked back.

"Eat shit!" Naruto roared as he drove his hand into the Kusa-nin's chest, sending him rocketing down into the ground.

A crater formed when the Kusa-nin landed, kicking up a large cloud of dust. However, when it cleared, the Kusa-nin slowly rose to his feet, chuckling softly.

"I see, that was quite a powerful attack... You gather as much chakra in your fist as possible, and you release it outward as soon as your fist hits the target... much like the venerable Tsunade-hime. With your chakra stores, I would have thought it impossible to reach such chakra control at your age..."

Naruto and Sasuke landed in front of the Kusa-nin, staring coldly at him. Naruto went through some handseals, and more wood shot from the ground, trying to ensnare him, but he jumped out of the way.

'This kid...' the Kusa-nin thought, staring at Naruto. 'Could he be the Kyuubi brat? He certainly looks like Minato-kun and Kushina... Well, if that's the case, I can put a stop to his massive attack power by disrupting his chakra flow. For that, I need to get closer...'

The Kusa-nin dodged yet another wooden spike, and found that Sasuke had taken this moment to close the distance between them, swiping furiously at him with his sword.

'These brats are wearing chakra weights, and yet they still possess this much speed and strength...' the Kusa-nin thought as he dodged slash after slash, a smirk appearing on his face. 'What monsters... I shudder to think of what kind of ninja they will become, given a few years to grow...'

The Kusa-nin went wide-eyed as his back thumped against a tree trunk, and several wooden poles shot out of it, wrapping around him.

"I got you now!" Sasuke exclaimed, slashing his sword and swiping it clean through the Kusa-nin's neck and the tree behind him... only for this one to also disappear in a puff of smoke...

The real Kusa-nin shot out of a bush, heading straight for Naruto. His tongue came out of his mouth, stretching to many times its original length and wrapping around a visibly surprised Naruto.

"W-What the hell?" Naruto growled out as the tongue, tightly wrapped around him, reached down and pulled up his shirt, exposing the seal on his stomach.

"Oh, the seal is clearly visible?" the Kusa-nin asked, tilting his head to the side as he went through a few handseals. Then, each finger on his right hand lit up with a purple energy, and he slammed his hand into Naruto's stomach with a cry of "Gogyou Fuuin (Five Elements Seal)!"

He was greatly surprised when his hand just passed straight through Naruto, and the blond slowly vanished from view. His eyes widened in shock.

'What's this? This wasn't a Bunshin... and a Kage Bunshin doesn't vanish like that. What...?' Slowly, the surprised look vanished from his face as his tongue retreated back into his mouth, which curved into a smirk. "I see, so that's the Triple Rodeo?" he asked out loud as he placed his hands in a Ram seal and called out, "Kai (Release)!"

The surroundings changed to show that he was once more back in the crater, and Naruto was in front of him, coming at him with a punch, and behind him was Sasuke, making to stab him in the back. The Kusa-nin twisted his body out of the path of the sword, touching it with his hand to change its path, doing the same with Naruto's fist.

The two Genin were greatly surprised when they found their attacks directed at their friend, and they only managed to redirect them at the last second. Sasuke's blade cut deeply into Naruto's side, but nothing fatal, while Naruto's blow grazed Sasuke's cheek, which in itself packed enough power that he felt a crack open up in his cheekbone.

The two Genin stood there in a shocked clinch of sorts, their eyes wide in shock.

"I-Impossible..." Naruto muttered.

"Without his Sharingan, not even Kakashi can see through that until it's too late..." Sasuke muttered as they broke their clinch, Naruto holding his side and Sasuke feeling his cheek swelling up. They turned toward the Kusa-nin, who was smirking at them both.

"You come at the target with a barrage of Ninjutsu and Taijutsu attacks... When the target is sufficiently distracted, Naruto-kun takes their attention off you with his Mokuton Ninjutsu, while you weave a Genjutsu around the target, convincing him that he's still fighting, while in actuality he is standing quite still, allowing the two of you to come in for the killing blow..." the Kusa-nin said and raised his hands. Naruto and Sasuke tensed, but were surprised when the ninja just started applauding slowly. "Naruto-kun... Sasuke-kun... You are both exceptional shinobi... I applaud your strength... However, I am afraid we will have to stop playing now..."

He put his hands in a strange seal, and his neck suddenly extended, his head shooting forward at an amazing speed and biting down on Sasuke's neck, making him cry out in pain and collapse to his knees, clutching at the bit.

"W-What is this?" he growled out, grunting in pain.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called out in concern, kneeling next to his friend, while the Kusa-nin's neck started bulging, and he opened his mouth to show an Earth scroll coming out of his mouth. He took it and placed it on the ground.

"This scroll, that mark... Presents for managing to amuse me," the Kusa-nin said as he started sinking into the ground. "I am Orochimaru... If you want power, come seek me out..."

Sasuke clutched at his shoulder tighter and cried out again, louder this time. Hinata landed softly behind them, her eyes wide in concern.

"P-Please, lay him on the ground! I'll treat him right away!"

Naruto struggled to take Sasuke's shirt off and lay him face down on the ground so that the bite mark was clearly visible.

"This... This isn't a wound!" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes widening upon seeing the three tomoes on the back of Sasuke's shoulder. "This is a seal!"

"A-A seal?" Hinata asked, her eyes widening as well. "W-What do we do, Naruto-kun?"

"Treat his cheekbone. I must have fractured it," Naruto muttered, placing his finger against the seal and closing his eyes. "Damn it! This thing is filling him up with that freak's vile chakra! I'm not very advanced in Fuuinjutsu yet, but..."

Naruto gritted his teeth and took out a kunai, slicing open his palm and allowing the blood to run down to the tip of his fingers, whereupon he started writing seals around that vile-smelling seal that Orochimaru guy put on Sasuke. Once he was done, he started flashing through seals faster than ever before.

"Fuuinjutsu: Doku Fuujikome (Sealing Technique: Poison Containment)!" he called out as he pressed his hand against the seal, watching as the seals he had drawn started glowing and crawled across Sasuke's skin to form a circle around the seal.

Sasuke grunted with pain again as Hinata put an ointment on his swollen cheek.

"N-Naruto... What did you do?" he grunted out through gritted teeth.

"I made this seal a couple of weeks ago..." Naruto panted out. That seal was incomplete, and had drained him. "I originally made it to contain poisons in case one of us got hurt by a poisoned weapon... However, I made some adjustments to it as I applied it. It should keep that vile chakra at bay for a while... Well, hopefully at least until we get to the tower. The Jiji should know something better..."

"I-I've done all I can for the fracture..." Hinata mumbled as Naruto helped Sasuke sit up, clutching at his shoulder. "The ointment will first work on the external injuries, and then work its way into the bone, mending it..."

"Thanks, Hinata..." Sasuke mumbled softly as Naruto got up and walked over to the scroll, picking it up. "Now, take care of Naruto."

"Naruto-kun?"

"I'm fine," Naruto said.

"Don't be a moron. I cut you deep. And even if I hadn't, you still got hurt by that Fuuton Ninjutsu from earlier, right?" Sasuke snapped, glaring at Naruto, who huffed and looked away. "I know why you're acting tough. You want to make sure I'm alright first. However, Naruto, _I_ also want to make sure _you're_ alright. You've done all you can for me. Now let Hinata take care of your damn wounds!"

Naruto huffed again, but came over and sat down nonetheless, taking off his shirt. The plate armor underneath was deeply scratched, but hadn't let any of the wind cut through. The same couldn't be said for his shoulders, arms, or his side, though. Well, in all fairness, the wound in his side was from Sasuke's sword...

Naruto took off his mesh shirt, and Hinata, her eyes wide with worry, immediately got to work treating his injuries.

"Who was that freak?" Naruto muttered, narrowing his eyes at the spot where the that Orochimaru guy had sank into the ground. "Orochimaru, did he say? What a weird-ass name..."

"Oro..." Sasuke mumbled, having been in too much pain to register the name when the man introduced himself. "Orochimaru?!"

"You know him?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow, and Sasuke nodded, his eyes wide.

"I... I've heard that name before..." Hinata mumbled. "O-Orochimaru... Isn't... Isn't he one of the Legendary Sannin?"

"Sannin...?" Naruto repeated, his eyes widening as well. "_That_ Orochimaru?!"

"So he _was_ toying with us..." Sasuke muttered. "That guy... he could have killed us in the blink of an eye if he wanted to..."

"And here we were, thinking we were great, big, powerful badasses..." Naruto muttered, gritting his teeth. "Turns out there are bigger badasses than us out there..."

–

**So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Remember to leave a review!**

**Peace,**

**ZnK**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, guys! Posting the sixth and technically seventh chapter now! I've decided that, until after the time-skip, I'm going to be posting double-chapters. I don't know why, but I just really, really, really want to post them as quickly as possible, even if that puts more pressure on me to finish the chapter I'm already working on.**

**Anyway, I got a review asking me about Sasuke's dream to revive the Uchiha Clan, slade963 he called himself. Well, Sasuke still wishes to revive the Uchiha Clan. It's not like he discovered that he was gay before he came up with that dream. But there is still the option of artificial insemination, so his sexual preferences don't really interfere with that goal.**

**And also, there has been some questions regarding the pairings. Up until now (yes, even the previous chapter), the pairings were undecided. In writing this story, I've gotten past the time-skip and still hadn't completely decided on anything. But I realized that I've never written a Naru/Ino fic before, and thought it might be fun to experiment with the pair.**

**Besides, the pairings weren't really my biggest focus when I started writing this fic, so there won't be much romance for a while, at least not until they've reached a more suitable age. I'm not the type of guy who'd be comfortable with writing romances between thirteen-year olds...**

**So, yeah, Naru/Ino. If you don't life that pairing, I'm certainly not going to get mad if you leave, but please don't tell me what kind of mistakes I'm making by not making it your preferred pairing.**

–

"Looks like this is it..." Naruto muttered, at the dawn of the third day as they reached the tower. Things had gone pretty slowly on the way, because that damn mark kept trying to break the containment seal, and caused Sasuke untold amounts of pain. Naruto had to admire Sasuke for being able to grit his teeth and keep moving through the pain.

"W-We made it..." Hinata said with relief evident in her voice. Sasuke grunted as his left knee gave out, but Naruto was there in a flash to catch him.

"Hey, don't strain yourself, you dumbass!" Naruto barked, slinging Sasuke's arm over his shoulder. "Come on, lean on me."

"I don't need your help, though..." Sasuke muttered, which made Naruto smile.

"I know you don't."

Team Seven entered the tower through their designated door and entered an empty room, not really sure what to expect.

"Look," Sasuke grunted and pointed at wall at the far end of the room. High above them was a text. Naruto read it and raised an eyebrow.

"Without Heaven... What the hell?" he asked and pointed at a segment of the text. "Words are missing there..."

"D-Do you think... maybe..." Hinata mumbled, staring up at the text with her brow furrowing. "Is it telling us to open the scrolls?"

Naruto reached into his kunai pouch, taking out the scrolls. He handed one to Hinata and took a deep breath, preparing to open the scroll.

"Alright... Open them," Sasuke ordered, and the two ripped open the scrolls, screwing their eyes shut as if the scrolls were going to explode or something. The three slowly opened their eyes and stared at the scroll. They all recognized the inky patterns on the scrolls.

"These are summoning seals!" Naruto exclaimed and threw away the scroll, while Hinata did the same, just in time for them to explode into smoke. The smoke cleared, and the three Genin stared.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, while the smiling Chuunin in front of them grinned.

"Hey! Long time no see!"

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, blinking. "Why were you summoned?"

"At the end of this second test, it's set up so we Chuunin meet up with the exam takers, and I was allowed to be the one to greet you."

"Greet us?" Hinata repeated, getting a nod from Iruka, who picked up a pocket watch, staring at it.

"Well, you weren't the fastest, but you certainly weren't the last," he spoke, grinning. "The second test... all three of you pass. Congratulations."

"S-So, sensei... What would have happened if we had opened the scrolls before now?" Hinata felt obligated to ask.

Iruka chuckled as he picked up the Earth scroll, holding it up. "As you may have figured out, this test's rules are set up to test your ability to perform missions correctly. So, if you were to break these rules and open the scrolls..."

"What would have happened?" Sasuke asked, getting a smile from Iruka.

"Those exam takers would be put in a state of unconsciousness for the remainder of the test period. Those were my orders."

"Hey, sensei," Naruto said, pointing at the wall. "What's the meaning of the writing on the wall? Seems like there's a word missing. We can't figure it out."

"Ah," Iruka said and pointed at the text. "I'm also here to explain that. Read it. This is the motto of the chunnin written by Hokage-sama."

"Motto?" Sasuke repeated.

"The 'Heaven' in this paragraph refers to the human mind, and the 'Earth' refers to the human body," Iruka explained. "'If you lack Heaven, seek wisdom, be prepared.' That's basically, for example, if someone's weakness is his or her brain, 'Gain knowledge and prepare yourself for the missions.' 'If you lack Earth, run in the fields, seek advantages.' So, if someone's weakness is stamina, then it's saying that you must continue to train hard. And if you have both Heaven and Earth, you can succeed even the most dangerous missions. So, basically, all missions become safe and easy."

"Then us three should have no problem completing missions!" Naruto said confidently, grinning widely, while Sasuke smirked at him, and Hinata smiled.

"Anyway, the words that represent a Chuunin, the 'person' word from the scrolls goes there. The last sentence is 'These rules will guide a person's extremes.' I don't think any of you really lack neither Heaven nor Earth. However, train hard, get stronger, and advance through the ranks. Make our Hokage, and the Hokage before him, proud!"

Iruka smiled brightly as Naruto gave a lazy salute. Then, he took a good long look at them.

"Wow, you guys look tired. There are rooms here where you can stay until the exam ends."

As if on cue, Sasuke's eyes drifted shut, and he collapsed, only to be once more caught by Naruto, who smiled softly at him.

'We've been running non-stop since we ran into Orochimaru... No food, no rest... I'm surprised he managed to stay awake this long through that pain... What a guy,' he thought fondly, putting Sasuke comfortably on his back and carrying him.

"Hinata, go get some rest. You deserve it," Naruto told Hinata, who straightened up.

"B-But I'm not tired, Naruto-kun!"

"Liar," Naruto said with a shrewd grin. "Even I got tired from that run. You must be beat. I'm gonna take this moron to the Jiji, then I'll go get some rest as well."

Hinata blushed at getting caught being tired, but she did as Naruto said nonetheless, heading further into the tower. Now that they were alone, Naruto turned to Iruka again, his eyes unusually serious.

"Iruka-sensei... I need to see the Hokage..."

–

So, later found Naruto in an office near the top of the tower. Inside the office was the Hokage, Kakashi, two Chuunin (Izumo and Kotetsu), and that crazy examiner lady, Anko. Sasuke was asleep on the sofa in the office, and the Sandaime was looking over the seal on his shoulder.

"The Curse Seal..." the Sandaime muttered, sighing.

"You encountered Orochimaru?" Anko asked Naruto, who nodded.

"That snake freak was just playing with us, though. I got the feeling he wanted to test our strength. Once we had amused him enough, he put that seal on Sasuke and gave us the slip," Naruto said, turning his gaze to Sasuke, his eyes softening. "I contained the chakra in the Curse Seal with a modified containment seal, but it won't hold for long, and it doesn't stop the pain. Frankly, I'm amazed that he managed the non-stop run here without collapsing. He's pretty amazing, eh?"

"Kakashi," the Sandaime spoke, making the lazy Jounin stand at attention. "I want you to start making preparations to perform the Fuuja Houin (Evil Sealing Method) right away."

"Yes, sir," Kakashi said, moving to leave the office, but not before giving Naruto a smile and a pat on the shoulder.

"Don't be too hard on yourself," the Sandaime spoke once Kakashi had left, making Naruto jump. The Sandaime looked over his shoulder at him. "You are not weak, Naruto-kun. Neither you nor Sasuke-kun are. There aren't many in this world who have fought Orochimaru and lived to speak of it. You should be proud you lived through the encounter."

"But like I said, he was playing with us..." Naruto muttered, clutching his fists and gritting his teeth. "He even stopped our Triple Rodeo and turned it on us..."

"And like _I_ said, don't be too hard on yourself," the Sandaime said firmly. "Orochimaru was my greatest pupil at one point. His power was amazing, and he was even considered a candidate for Yondaime Hokage. Just because you lost to him, that doesn't mean you are weak. Not by a long shot. If you were weak, he wouldn't have bothered to spare your lives." The Sandaime sighed again, then looked at the examiner. "Anko, take Naruto-kun to a room where he can rest. Izumo, Kotetsu, please take Sasuke to Kakashi."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" all three of them said together.

–

A knock came upon the door to Naruto's room, and as he opened it, he found Hinata standing outside, looking well-rested. She was blushing rather brightly, so Naruto immediately knew why she had come.

"Time to check my injuries, eh?" he asked, and Hinata nodded. Naruto gestured for her to come inside, and she did, Naruto closing the door behind her, before moving over to sit on the bed, taking off his shirt, armor, and mesh to reveal the bandages on his body. "They don't hurt, though, so I think they're fine."

Hinata didn't say anything. Instead, she just kept blushing as she removed the bandages, only for her eyes to widen.

"They're... They're gone!" she spoke in amazement. Naruto looked down to see that, indeed, even the deep wound in his side Sasuke had given him was gone.

"Yeah, I've always healed fast," Naruto said with a shrug. "Suppose it's the Kyuubi's doing, or something."

"W-Wow..."

Another knock was heard, but the door opened before Naruto could even rise from the bed, showing Sasuke entering, looking rested as well.

"Yo. Looking healed up and ready to tackle the world," Sasuke commented, his hands in his pockets.

"Likewise," Naruto said, nodding in approval. "So, have you heard anything?"

"Five teams, including ours, have arrived so far," Sasuke said, moving into the room and sitting down in the only chair there. "It's more than expected, so they don't expect any more teams to pass."

"How's the seal?" Naruto asked, which made Sasuke reflexively reach up and rub his shoulder.

"Kakashi used some kind of Fuuinjutsu on me, called Fuuja Houin. It keeps the seal at bay, but only as long as I believe in my own strength."

"And... And you don't think you can?" Hinata guessed, which got a nod from Sasuke. "Y-You shouldn't doubt yourselves, Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun..." she mumbled softly. "You two... You're incredible... I don't know if anyone would have lasted as long as you two did against that man... I... I really admire you two for your strength..."

"Tch..." Sasuke uttered as if what Hinata had said had no effect on him, but they could both see that he had regained some confidence. "I guess I'll just have to get a rematch with that Oro-yaro... Then we'll see who beats who..."

"Well, first of all we'll need to get through this Chuunin Exam before we consider fighting that freak," Naruto said, stretching and putting on his clothes again. "I don't know about you two, but I'm kinda filled with energy right now. I think I'll go for a run. Anyone wanna come?"

"Might as well," Sasuke said as he and Naruto stood up. They both looked to Hinata, who nodded and stood up as well.

–

Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Team Eight, Team Ten, Team Gai, Team Suna, Team Oto and Team Kabuto were standing in front of the seven jounin sensei, the proctors, some Chuunin, and the Hokage.

The Sandaime cleared his throat.

"First off, for the second test, congratulations on passing!"

Gai smirked and looked at Kakashi.

"Your team isn't too bad. Maybe they were lucky. But as long as my team is around, getting any further is impossible. Since, from now, it's all about real ability. Well, with youth, there are sweet times, and there are sour times, eh Kakashi?"

Kakashi just turned to Gai, staring at him lazily.

"Huh? You say something, Gai?"

Gai snapped and turned his back on Kakashi, clutching his fist.

'Heh... Not bad, my rival Kakashi... You're cool in that way, and it really gets on my nerves!'

Kakashi just looked clueless.

"Now, for the coming third test, but before I explain that, there's something else I'd like you to know. It concerns the true reason for this exam. Why do we have all the allied countries taking the exam together? 'To promote friendship among the countries.' 'To raise the level of shinobi.' I don't want you to be confused about the true meaning. This exam is..." the Sandaime said and paused dramatically, puffing on his pipe, "a replacement for war among the allied countries," he said, shocking the Genin present. "If you go back in time, the current allies were enemies who fought each other over who would rule. In order to prevent wasteful fighting, the stage that these countries chose for battle, that is the origins of this Chuunin selection exam."

"Then, this isn't for Chuunin promotions?" Rock Lee asked, wide eyed.

"It is a fact that this exam decides which shinobi have what it takes to become a Chuunin. But on the other hand, this exam has another side, where each country's ninja risks their own life to protect their land's prestige."

"Prestige?" Ino asked, getting a nod from the Sandaime.

"Watching this third exam will be leaders and influential individuals from many countries who make up the clients of the shinobi. And the leaders of the countries will also be there to watch each of your battles. If the strength of a country is clear, that country will receive more clients. And conversely, if seen as weak, they will lose clients," the Sandaime said and paused for a moment, letting the information sink in. "And this will signal to potential enemy countries that 'our village has this much power.' So, we will send a political message to the outsiders."

"But why?" Kiba asked. "Why do we have to risk our lives in battle?"

"The strength of the country is the strength of the village. The strength of the village is the strength of the shinobi. And a shinobi's true strength is born only through life-risking battle. This exam is a place to see each country's strength, and to show off your own. It only has meaning because lives are at risk. And that's why those that have come before you have fought in the Chuunin Exam for this dream that is meaningful."

"But then... why do you say stuff about it being for friendship?" Tenten of Team Gai asked, looking thoroughly confused.

"I said it in the beginning, I don't want you to confuse the purpose of this. By losing life and establishing balance. This is the shape of friendship in the world of the shinobi," the Sandaime said calmly. "Before we begin the third test, I will tell you one more thing. This is not just a test... This is a life-risking battle, with your dreams and your country's prestige on the line."

"I don't care what it is... Just hurry up and tell us what this life-risking battle entails," Sabaku no Gaara said, his arms crossed.

"Yes, I'd like to now explain the third test, but-"

"Actually," a new voice interrupted, coughing, as a man blurred into view in front of the Sandaime, on his knees. "I apologize, Hokage-sama... From here on, as the referee, will you please allow me, Gekkou Hayate, to explain?"

"By all means," the Sandaime said with a nod. The man stood up and turned to the Genin. He looked sick, with bags around his eyes and a bad cough.

"Hello, everyone, I'm Hayate. Um... Before the third test, there's something I'd like you to do. It's a preliminary for the third test to decide who gets to participate in the main event," Hayate explained, coughing again. "The first and second test may have been too easy this year. We have a bit too many people remaining. According to Chuunin exam rules, we must have a preliminary and reduce the number of participants for the third test. As Hokage-sama indicated earlier, there will be many guests at the third tests, so the fights could take too long. We are limited in time," he explained and paused, letting the information sink in. "So, anyway, those who are not feeling well, those who feel like quitting after these explanations, please come forward now. Since we'll be starting the preliminary immediately."

After a couple of seconds of silence, Kabuto raised his hand.

"Um... I'm going to quit."

Hayate stared at him for a while, before looking at his clipboard.

"You're Konoha's Yakushi Kabuto-kun, right? You may leave now. Does anyone else want to retire? Oh, um... I forgot to tell you that, from now on, it will be individual battling. You may raise your hand based on your own judgment."

No one else raised their hand.

"Well, since no one else wants to quit, let's begin. There are basically no rules. The fight continues until one of you dies, is knocked out, or admits your defeat. But when I decide that the winner has clearly been established, since we don't want to pointlessly increase the amount of corpses, I'll jump in and stop things. And the object that controls your destinies is..."

A hatch on the wall opened up to reveal a large scoreboard.

"...is this... This electric scoreboard will show the match-ups for each battle. Now, this is sudden, but let's announce the two names of the first fight."

The screen flickered to light, and two names popped up.

_Uchiha Sasuke_

_vs_

_Akado Yoroi_

Hayate coughed.

"Will everyone except the two participants move to the upper level?"

"Right off the bat, huh?" Sasuke asked with a smirk as the Genin started heading up to the stands, leaving only him and Yoroi on the floor. Yoroi was a Genin from Kabuto's team, his face covered by a cloth, and his eyes covered by black lenses. They both moved to the middle of the room, facing each other, with Hayate between them to the side.

"The two participants in the first fight are Akado Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke. Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

"Yes."

"Now... please begin."

Hayate jumped back as Yoroi put his hands in a Tiger seal.

"Are you ready?"

"The proctor just asked that," Sasuke quipped. "You must either be deaf, or a bigger moron than Naruto."

Yoroi twitched, and Naruto immediately snapped, "HEY, YOU BASTARD, DON'T TAKE SHOTS AT ME LIKE THAT!"

The other Genin reached behind his back, then flung three shuriken at Sasuke, who fished out a kunai, swiping it at the shuriken and sending them flying back at Yoroi, who ducked.

Yoroi charged forward and swiped his hand at Sasuke, who dodged to the side, his eyes narrowing in thought. That attack hadn't been meant to hurt, but rather to grab. His other hand, however, had been quite relaxed, as had his legs, so he had made no preparations for a follow-up...

Yoroi swiped at him again, this time a backhanded swing in which he turned his arm in an attempt to grab Sasuke, who immediately flipped out of his reach.

"There's something weird about that hand of yours, isn't there?" Sasuke asked with a smirk, activating his Sharingan. "Whatever it is, I'll notice it."

Sasuke's Sharingan immediately saw the chakra around Yoroi's hand. The chakra was flowing into Yoroi's palm, and the Doujutsu immediately started breaking down the technique as Yoroi charged again.

"Ah, a one-trick pony, then?" Sasuke asked as he dodged another swipe. "No wonder you're still a Genin at your age. As long as I don't allow you to touch me with that chakra-absorbing hand of yours, I'll be safe."

"Don't underestimate me, you little brat!" Yoroi roared as he charged again. This time, he managed to grab Sasuke and started absorbing his chakra...

...only for Sasuke to disappear in a poof of smoke.

"Kage Bunshin?!" Yoroi exclaimed in shock. Suddenly, three shuriken flew past him from behind, and Yoroi spun around to see Sasuke standing behind him.

The Uchiha yanked the ninja wires in his hands, changing the course of the shuriken and making them swing around Yoroi, wrapping him up in the ninja wire.

"There are several ways for me to end the match right here," Sasuke informed the man. "I can cut your head off with my sword... but my favorite would be to burn you with my Ryuuka no Jutsu... So, you wanna give up?"

Seeing that Yoroi was standing there defiantly, not saying a word, Sasuke shrugged and put the ninja wire between his teeth, and then started flashing through handseals, ending in a Tiger seal.

"W-Wait!" Yoroi called suddenly. "I give up!"

"Winner, Uchiha Sasuke," Hayate called, gesturing for the Uchiha, who smirked as he dropped the ninja wires and headed over to the stairs, walking up to his team and Kakashi.

"Not a spectacular fight, but against a guy like that, whatcha gonna do, right?" Naruto asked, grinning, which got a grunt from Sasuke.

"B-But that was amazing, Sasuke-kun," Hinata said, smiling. "To end the fight in just a few seconds, without getting hit once... I don't know if I could do that..."

"Don't sell yourself short, Hinata," Sasuke said with a smirk. "This guy was nowhere near our level. You would have noticed his ability immediately, you would have sealed the tenketsu in his right arm, preventing him from using that jutsu of his, and he would have lost. You have a good brain, and if you got some self-confidence to go with it, you'd be amazing."

Naruto grinned brightly at the blushing Hinata and slapped his bicep.

"All you need is guts!"

The names started cycling on the board again, and then stopped with the names in the next fight.

_Hyuuga Hinata_

_vs_

_Abumi Zaku_

"Remember, Hinata," Naruto said, grinning at the Hyuuga as she gulped, "guts with a little bit of cautiousness!"

Hinata took a deep breath, then nodded as she headed for the stairs, while the Oto-nin with the three kanji for Death on his shirt made his way down the stairs from the stands on the other side of the room.

Soon enough, Hinata and Zaku were in the middle of the room, facing each other.

"Are you both ready?" Hayate asked the two contestants with a cough, getting nods from the two Genin. "Then, please begin!"

"Please, give up," Hinata said as her Byakugan activated, and she got into a Juuken stance. "These last few weeks, my abilities have grown, and I would prefer not to hurt you..."

"Heh, what's this?" Zaku said with a grin. "A ninja who doesn't want to hurt her opponent? What kind of babies do Konoha raise, eh? I'll end this fight in one blow!"

Hinata focused on Zaku, analyzing her opponent.

'Those tubes in his arms... He is channeling chakra through them... They must be some kind of cannons...'

Zaku raised his arms, pointing his palms at Hinata.

"Zankuuha (Decapitating Airwaves)!" Zaku roared, blasting a large amount of Wind chakra at Hinata, who dodged out of the way to see the wall behind her get completely torn up by the blast.

'If I get hit by even one of those... I'm done for,' she thought as she rushed forward. She needed to get him in close-quarter combat. He was a long-range fighter, and she was a close-range fighter. At long range, he would be the only one with the ability to attack.

Hinata came at Zaku with a flurry of Juuken strikes, greatly surprising the Oto-nin with her speed. She got in a few strikes here and there, which made Rock Lee, who was standing next to Naruto, blink in confusion.

"She's not hitting him seriously," Lee concluded. "Having a Hyuuga on my team, I know how destructive the Juuken can be. But her strikes are doing almost no damage..."

"Well, that's what you think," Naruto said, smirking at Lee. "Hinata is smart. She's probably already figured out how to beat him."

Meanwhile, on the floor, an extra hard Juuken strike to the shoulder made Zaku grunt and flip back several times, putting a bit of distance between him and Hinata, who stopped and lowered her arms, relaxing.

"I will say this again," Hinata said softly, looking almost pained. "You should give up. You have lost."

"Lost?!" Zaku exclaimed. "I won't lose until I'm on the floor, dead!"

Zaku raised his arms and aimed them at Hinata again. He was a bit unnerved by the fact that the Hyuuga wasn't even tensing up. She was completely relaxed, though she did look a bit sadder than she had a second ago.

"I'll blow you away for sure with this one!" Zaku stated as he started gathering chakra in his arms. "Zankuu-"

What happened next surprised everyone except for Team Seven.

Zaku's arms exploded at the elbows, blowing his forearms clean off.

"W-Wha...?" Zaku mumbled in complete shock, staring at his arms on the ground.

"The Hyuuga fighting style does not focus on brute strength..." Hinata said softly. "It instead focuses on attacking the body's chakra circulatory system... With these eyes, I can see it. I could also see the modifications done to your own. By applying my chakra in a sort of chakra senbon, when I struck your arms during my attack, I rerouted the chakra in your cannons to head back into your body. The retreating chakra and the outgoing chakra met in the middle and searched for an exit..."

Zaku's wide eyes looked up at Hinata just as she crossed the distance between them and lashed out with a Juuken strike to the chest, which knocked him to the ground. The strike, coupled with the shock of having both arms blown off, was too much for Zaku, who lost consciousness.

"Winner of the second match, Hyuuga Hinata!" Hayate announced, as Hinata heaved a sigh and moved back to the stairs.

"Damn, Hinata!" Naruto barked happily as Hinata approached her team. He slung an arm around her shoulders and grinned brightly. "You can be pretty brutal when you want to be, eh? I'm glad I'm not _your_ enemy!"

"Seems you can work up some resolve after all," Sasuke said with a smirk, crossing his arms. "Hinata, why don't you show this confidence all the time?"

"I... I try..." Hinata mumbled, poking her fingers together. "It's just that... I don't know..."

_Tsururugi Misumi_

_vs_

_Kankuro_

"Hey, it's him," Sasuke said, nudging Naruto, who looked to see the puppeteer descending the stairs, while Misumi, Yoroi's teammate, who also had his face covered, jumped down from the stands to the floor.

Team Seven watched as the match started. Immediately, Misumi charged and Kankuro with a punch, which was blocked. However, Misumi's arm started stretching like rubber and wrapped around Kankuro. Next, all of Misumi wrapped around him, his arms and legs, proclaiming that his body had been altered so that he could fit into any space. He demanded that Kankuro give up, but Kankuro remained defiant, and Naruto could sense why.

"That's not him," he muttered to his teammates, who looked at him in surprise, just as a sickening snap was heard as Kankuro's neck broke.

Then, however, Kankuro's head whipped around, and his clothes were torn as four two more arms shot out of them. They were puppet arms. The disguise fell, revealing that Kankuro had only been a puppet, and the bandaged package Kankuro had been carrying on his back unwrapped, revealing the real Kankuro.

Misumi tried to give up, but couldn't, as the puppet squeeze him too hard. Thankfully, Hayate ended the match as soon as Misumi lost consciousness from the pain of the broken bones.

Next was the battle of the fangirls, Haruno Sakura vs Yamanaka Ino. It was boring, to say the least. They just kept talking through the battle, threw some punches, talked some more, and then, it ended with a draw!

"This was... This... Hm..." Naruto muttered, scratching his head. "This was probably the most boring match ever..."

Two new names flickered onto the screen.

_Sabaku no Temari_

_vs_

_Tenten_

This match was a little longer. Tenten was a long range fighter, just like Temari. Tenten threw her weapons, and Temari blew them away with her fan. That was the way it went for ten minutes, before Temari finally decided to end it, beating the crap out of Tenten.

_Tsuchi Kin_

_vs_

_Nara Shikamaru_

This match made Naruto laugh. Shikamaru used his shadow to make Kin slam her head into the wall.

_Senju Naruto_

_vs_

_Inuzuka Kiba_

Naruto's eyebrows rose at that. He looked to the Sandaime, who nodded. So, he had finally gotten the approval to use the Senju name, eh?

"I guess this day is just full of good news, eh?" Naruto said with a small grin as he jumped down to the floor, walking over to stand in the middle. Kiba came over as well, but he was tense. Without a doubt, he, like the others of the academy, knew that Naruto's position as dead last didn't show his true skills at all.

"Hey, Kiba," Naruto said as Kiba put Akamaru on the floor. "You should keep Akamaru out of this. I don't want to accidentally hurt him..."

"Sorry, but Akamaru always fights with me. He's my partner," Kiba said, a small grin on his face. "You know, I've been looking forward to this."

"Oh?"

"Heh, Naruto and Sasuke, Konoha's strongest Genin, they say. Well, although losing against you wouldn't hurt my pride all that much... beating you would show how much I've grown since the academy."

"Well, losing to me now won't exactly show that you've been standing still since graduation, Kiba," Naruto said with a shrug. "After all, I've grown, too."

"Seventh match, Senju Naruto vs Inuzuka Kiba... please begin!"

Kiba put his hand in a Tiger seal, but Naruto held up his hand.

"Wait, Kiba," he said softly. "If you want to fight me, go all-out right away. I won't be holding back more than I need to avoid killing you."

Kiba hesitated for a second, then let go of the Tiger seal, instead digging his hand into his kunai pouch and taking out a soldier pill, tossing it to Akamaru, who swallowed it, his fur turning red. Kiba put his hands in the Tiger seal again and crouched down.

"Gijyuu Ninpou: Shikyaku no Jutsu (Beast Mimicry Ninja Art: Four-Legged Technique)!" he exclaimed as he got down on all fours, his nails growing into claws, and his canines elongating. Akamaru jumped onto his back, and he formed another seal. "Juujin Bunshin (Man Beast Clone)!"

There was a poof of smoke surrounding Akamaru, and when it cleared, a clone of Kiba could be seen standing on all fours on Kiba's back. Naruto grinned.

"Hoh, looking pretty beastly there, Kiba!"

"Let's see you handle this!" Kiba exclaimed as Akamaru jumped off his back, and they both charged at Naruto, Kiba tossing three smoke bombs at Naruto's feet. The smoke bombs exploded, and Kiba and Akamaru both leapt into it, spinning at an incredible speed, becoming two cyclones of destruction as they charged into the smoke. "Gatsuuga (Fang Over Fang)!"

The sound of the two impacting something was heard, and the two came out of the other side of the smoke, both of them landing on all fours.

"Damn it, we hit resistance! Again, Akamaru!" Kiba growled out, and the both performed another Gatsuuga, charging into the smoke once more. This time, Naruto's cry of pain was heard, and when the two Inuzuka fighters came out of the smoke this time, they were accompanied by Naruto, who was flying out of it and impacted with the ground hard, grunting in discomfort.

The smoke cleared to show a wooden dome that had been raised to protect Naruto. The dome, however, had been completely torn open.

"Heh, is that all you've got?" Kiba asked, grinning as he rubbed his nose in satisfaction. "Man, I knew I had grown stronger, but I didn't expect you to be this weak, Naruto!"

"So, you're Kiba?" Naruto asked as he pushed himself to his feet, smirking at Kiba. Then, he turned to his clone. "Then that's Akamaru."

Kiba's eyes widened as Naruto shot forward at a speed they hadn't been expecting, grabbing a hold of Akamaru. They were even more surprised when Naruto's arms transformed into wood, which lengthened and wrapped around the transformed ninken.

"It's over," Naruto said calmly, turning his cold eyes toward the wide-eyed Kiba, just as two hands burst through the floor, grabbing Kiba's ankles.

"Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Element: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)!" came Naruto's voice from the floor, and Kiba cried out in shock as he was pulled into the floor until only his head was visible. Slowly, Naruto rose from the floor, seemingly growing out of it, and he stood up, grinning down at Kiba.

"Sorry we couldn't have an all-out epic battle, Kiba. However, these are just the preliminaries. I don't want to show off all my moves to my potential opponents."

"Damn you! I'm gonna...!"

"You can't move an inch," Naruto said, squatting down in front of Kiba. "Well, if you still don't feel like giving up, I suppose I can threaten with snapping Akamaru's neck if you don't..." he muttered, rubbing his chin. "Lucky for you, I'm not that cruel. Proctor, I could kill him. Call it."

"Winner, Senju Naruto!"

Naruto grinned and grabbed Kiba's head, pulling him out of the floor as though it was water. The hole underneath him immediately closed, and the clone holding Akamaru slowly retracted its limbs and sank into the floor. Then, Naruto headed back up to his team.

Next was Rock Lee vs Sabaku no Gaara.

This match was intense. Lee showed off some amazing Taijutsu moves, and beat the living shit out of Gaara, but Gaara was protected by his sand. Then, Lee opened the Celestial Gates, and went nuts on the Suna genin. However, once again, his sand protected him, and he managed to crush the wounded Lee's arm and leg, resulting in his victory.

_Hyuuga Neji_

_vs_

_Kinuta Dosu_

This match was ended relatively quickly. Although Dosu bragged about his arm would be capable of completely disorienting Neji, the Hyuuga didn't even give him a chance to use it, immediately coming at him with a flurry of Juuken strikes, ending with one to the chest that completely knocked the Genin out cold.

The final match was Aburame Shino vs Akimichi Chouji. This one, too, ended relatively quickly. Ino had gotten Chouji's spirits up by bribing him with barbeque, but despite Chouji's energy, Shino immediately covered the chubby Genin with his Destruction Bugs, draining him of his chakra.

"Winner, Aburame Shino," Hayate announced and coughed into his hand, before continuing. "Well, with this, the preliminary trials for the third exam have been completed! Everyone, please come down here!"

The Genin got down from the stands, and soon stood in front of Anko, Ibiki and Hayate.

"To all of you who won the rights to compete in the third test in the Chuunin Selection Exams, congratulations to you all!" Hayate exclaimed, before turning to the Sandaime. "Well then, Hokage-sama, if you would please..."

"Yes," the Sandaime said and walked forward. "Well, now I'd like to start explaining the main test. As I told you before, in the main event, your matches will be seen by everybody. Each of you will fight to represent the strengths of your countries. I'd like you to show off all your powers with no reserves. Which is why the finals will be held one month from now. This break, as you might call it, will be for preparations."

"What does that mean?" Neji asked, looking a bit more agitated than usual, occasionally glancing to the side to glare at Hinata.

"In other words, in addition to informing all the various country lords and shinobi leaders, this is the time needed to arrange for the gathering of the event. And this is also preparation time for you examination students."

"I don't understand what you're trying to say! What does it mean?" Kankuro asked.

"Basically, it's the preparation to get to know your enemy and yourself. It's the time period where you calculate your chances of winning by analyzing the data you accumulated during the trial competition," the Sandaime explained, puffing on his pipe. "The battles up to now had you fight as if you were in an actual combat situation with the assumption of fighting an unknown opponent. However, the final trial will not be like this. There are those who showed all that they can do already to their rivals. There are those who competed and were badly injured against a strong opponent. To make everything fair, the one month should be used by all of you to advance and improve yourselves. Of course, it'll be fine to rest your body as well. Well, I'd like to dismiss you now, but... there's something that has to be done for the finals before I can do that."

"More?" Shikamaru asked, sighing. "Geez..."

"Well now, don't get so excited. There are pieces of paper inside of the box that Anko is holding, so each of you take one piece."

Anko held up a square box to show the Genin what the old man was talking about.

"Now, I'll come around, so wait your turn."

All the Genin reached into the box as it was handed to them and drew their numbers. Once they'd announced them, the Sandaime spoke up.

"Alright, now I'll reveal to you the final tournament."

"That's what we drew the numbers for?!" Naruto asked, wide eyed.

"Now, Ibiki, show them the match arrangements."

"Yes, sir," Ibiki said and held up a piece of paper.

_1st match: Hyuuga Hinata vs Hyuuga Neji_

_2nd match: Senju Naruto vs Aburame Shino_

_3rd match: Sabaku no Gaara vs Kankuro_

_4th match: Uchiha Sasuke vs Nara Shikamaru (vs Temari)_

"Well then, you're free to start planning strategies or resting as you like. With this, I'll dismiss you all, but are there any final questions?" the Sandaime asked, and Shikamaru raised his hand.

"Can I ask a question?"

"Yes."

"Since it's a tournament, it would mean that there's only one winner, right? Which would mean that only one person can become a Chuunin, doesn't it?"

"No, that's not quite it," the Sandaime spoke, smirking. "There will be judges, including myself, the Kazekage, lords of various countries that will make mission requests, and other ninja leaders, who will be watching the final test. Throughout the tournament, these judges will be evaluating your abilities. Those judged to have the necessary qualities of a Chuunin will be able to become a Chuunin, even if they lose in their first match."

"That means that... it's a possibility that everyone here will become a Chuunin?" Temari asked.

"Yes. But there's also the possibility that no one will become Chuunin. To advance in the tournament means that you will have more chances to appeal to the judges. Did you understand, Shikamaru-kun?" the Sandaime asked, which got a sigh from Shikamaru.

"Geez, this is so troublesome..."

"Well then, thanks for all the effort you exerted for these trials! You're all dismissed until a month from now!" the Sandaime announced, smiling at them all.

–Chapter end–

Naruto had to sweatdrop at the sight before him. Kakashi had told him that Jiraiya would be waiting for him at the hot springs. When Naruto asked his sensei what the man looked like, the cyclops just said, "You'll know him when you see him."

That could only mean that Jiraiya was pretty unique, and upon noticing the sight in front of him, this guy was... special...

The man was tall, obviously, Naruto could tell even though the man was sitting down. He had long, white hair in a spiky ponytail, wore red and green, had a large scroll on his back, and a red line going down his face from each eye.

Oh yeah, and he was openly giggling and peeping into the hot springs.

"Well," Naruto said, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "when Kakashi-sensei said I'd know you when I saw you, he said it in a very extreme tone, so I though he may just have been exaggerating..."

"Hm?" the old man uttered as he turned away from his peephole, looking toward Naruto. "Who are you, brat?"

"Senju Naruto. You're Jiraiya?"

The old man's eyes widened, and a bright smile appeared on his face.

"I sure am! So, you're Naruto, eh? Hoh, you've grown into a fine shinobi, that's for sure!"

"I heard you were made my godfather," Naruto said, his hands still in his pockets. "I suppose you had your reasons for not being there when I grew up, but it was a pretty shitty thing you did. But I suppose you can repay me by training me well."

Jiraiya twitched in annoyance, and he gave Naruto a heated glare.

"Just who do you think you are, brat, trying to guilt trip the great Gama Sennin (Toad Sage) Jiraiya-sama?!"

"Hm, you're right, you don't deserve a guilt trip," Naruto said, nodding slowly as he closed his eyes and rubbed his chin in thought. "I mean, it wasn't like you were close to my old man or something... And it's not like he named you godfather because he was counting on you to take care of me when he couldn't, right?"

Jiraiya twitched again, and he turned his back to Naruto, probably hoping to keep the guilty look on his face from Naruto's view. Behind him, however, Naruto put up two fingers in a victory sign.

"In any case, Naruto, there's no need for the guilt trip," Jiraiya said, turning back toward Naruto, who swiftly lowered his hand. "The only reason I came back to this village was for the sole purpose of overseeing your training. That's right, the great Gama Sennin is going to be training you personally!" he exclaimed, striking a pose.

Naruto blinked, then tilted his head to the side. "Am I supposed to be honored?"

"Damn right you're supposed to be honored!" Jiraiya snapped. "How many do you think have the privilege of claiming that they have received training from one of the Legendary Sannin, huh?!"

"Well, fact is, you're getting older... You're no longer in your prime, and you spend your days writing smut," Naruto said with a shrug. "Are you sure you're even in shape enough to keep up with a youngster like myself?"

"Watch yourself, brat! You're a hundred years too early to compare yourself to the likes of Jiraiya-sama!" Jiraiya said, puffing out his chest with pride. "Anyway, do you want to learn from me or not?"

"Wow, take it easy," Naruto said, waving him off. "I was just messing around. Lead the way, oh glorious ero-master."

"E-Ero-master..." Jiraiya repeated, twitching. 'I hope he won't be going around calling me that in public... It'll really damage my reputation, especially with the ladies...'

The Gama Sennin cleared his throat and gave Naruto a grin.

"Well then, Naruto! We will begin right away! I'm going to be teaching you an incredible jutsu!"

"Alright!"

–

"Are you sure about this, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked slowly as he and Sasuke walked, far away from the village. "It'll cut into our training time."

"I'm sure," Sasuke said, nodding. "I'm always trying to stay on the same level as Naruto, and... I get the feeling I'm going to need this..."

In the distance was a fortress shaped like a cat. Sasuke had never been there before, but he had heard both Nekobaa and Itachi talking about it. The Cat Fortress, home of the Ninneko (Ninja Cats)...

"You didn't have to come with me," Sasuke told Kakashi. "After all, you can't come with me inside. They'll smell the dog on you."

"I couldn't very well let you leave the village on your own. You'd be much too exposed," Kakashi said as he fished out his book and opened it, sitting down on a tree that had fallen over. "Well, I'll be waiting for you here. Go do whatever it is you have to do."

Sasuke nodded, and without another word walked off toward the fortress in the distance. Kakashi glanced up from his book to stare at Sasuke's retreating back.

'I acted like the carefree teacher and followed him without question, hoping he'd tell me on his own, but...' Kakashi's eye closed sadly, and he sighed, his head slumping. '...I'd really like to know what he's gonna do...'

Shaking his head, Kakashi went back to his Icha Icha Violence, turning the page as he kept reading.

'And then Shu-san told Kure-chan, "You will never catch this hero off-guard!" He charged...' Slowly, Kakashi's eye moved away from the book to stare at Sasuke again, who still hadn't disappeared from view. 'Damn you, Sasuke... I can't even focus on my Icha, I'm so curious...'

–

"Alright, Naruto," Jiraiya said as he stood with Naruto some distance away from Konoha, his arms crossed. "You've progressed further than I had anticipated, but that's good news. That means I won't have to explain too much. I'm sure you've heard of the Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)?"

"I have," Naruto said with a nod. Jiraiya grinned as he bit his thumb and flashed through some handseals.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Jiraiya called as he slammed his hand down on the ground. There was an explosion of smoke, and when it cleared, Jiraiya could be seen sitting on a large, pale orange and green toad, which had a large scroll in its mouth, and wore a necklace with seven large beads on it, with the kanji for Loyalty on the central, largest one. The toad unrolled its tongue and held the scroll out to Naruto with it. The blond took it and lay it down on the ground, unrolling it to show five signatures signed in blood, with fingerprints underneath each signature.

"This is the contract with the toads that has been passed down through many generations," Jiraiya explained. "You write your name in blood, and under that, you press your fingerprints in blood. Then, when you want to call them, mold chakra and place down the hand you signed the contract with. The handseals are Board, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram."

Naruto nodded and bit his thumb, before signing his name and leaving his fingerprints on the scroll.

"Now, Naruto, how much chakra do you have?"

Naruto hummed and closed his eyes, molding some chakra to activate his sensors. Then, he opened his eyes again and looked at Jiraiya.

"I'd say, about one fifth less than you."

Jiraiya twitched at that.

"Y-You do?"

"Yeah. I've always had massive chakra stores, but when Sasuke started to catch up in that department, I had to step up my game."

The toad disappeared in a poof of smoke, leaving Jiraiya standing there with his arms crossed.

"Hm... Since you have that much chakra, I don't really have an excuse to have you learn how to use _it_..."

"It?"

"Naruto, you have two kinds of chakra," Jiraiya said, opening his eyes to stare at Naruto seriously.

"Two kinds...?" Naruto repeated, furrowing his brow. "Ah, you mean I can use Kyuubi's chakra?"

"Know about the Kyuubi, do you? Yes, its chakra is yours to use. It's an amazingly powerful chakra that should be-"

"No," Naruto interrupted, shaking his head. "I am Senju Naruto, not the Kyuubi. I'll become an amazing ninja without relying on its chakra."

"Naruto, I don't think you realize-"

"I've made it this far without it, haven't I?"

"But-"

"Yosh, I'll try the Kuchiyose now!"

"YOU BRAT! STOP INTERRUPTING ME!"

"SHADDAP, ERO-MASTER! I COULDN'T GIVE TWO SHITS WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY!"

"Why, you...!"

The two glared at each other for a good long while. But then, Jiraiya sighed, a small smile on his face.

"Very well... I'll believe in you. Alright, then, become an amazing ninja on your own, starting with mastering the Kuchiyose!"

"Alright!"

"I'll be over there," Jiraiya said, pointing off at a waterfall in the distance, under which they had seen several girls bathing when they came here. With a wave, Jiraiya blurred out of view.

"Tch, old pervert..." Naruto muttered, shaking his head as he bit his thumb and swiped some on his palm, before going through the required handseals, pumping out chakra and calling out, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

There was another explosion of smoke, this one much bigger than the one that appeared when Jiraiya summoned his toad. When the smoke cleared, it revealed that Naruto was standing on a massive toad, who towered over the trees around them. It was colored a dull, rusty red, but around his eyes and lips and chest were brighter red markings. Over his left eye, he had a long scar. He wore a blue happi vest that had the kanji for Shrimp on the back, carried a massive dosu blade at his hip, and had a large kiseru pipe in his mouth.

"What the hell is this?!" the toad barked in a gruff voice, looking around. "Hey, Jiraiya! Why did you summon me here?!" He glanced at his nose, to see Naruto standing there, grinning at him. "Why is there a little punk on me?! Where's Jiraiya?!"

"What do you want him for?" Naruto asked. "I'm the one who summoned you here."

The toad blinked once, staring at Naruto in disbelief. He muttered a, "You?" and Naruto nodded, still grinning. This caused the toad to laugh... loudly.

"You shouldn't lie, punk! There's no way a lil' shrimp like you could summon me!"

Naruto's eye twitched as the toad kept laughing. He tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for the toad to finish, but it seemed he never did. Therefore, Naruto snapped, stomping his foot down.

"Hey, you piece of shit toad! I'm the one who summoned you! It was I, Senju Naruto-sama! I am your master!"

The toad's eyes widened, but immediately narrowed dangerously.

"What the...? Who the hell do you think you are?! Some little kid is claiming that he's the master of Boss Toad Gamabunta-sama?! You want your head ripped off, you little shit?!"

"Hey! Don't snap at me! I'll kick your ass if you don't show a little respect! Summoning someone like you on the first attempt at my age makes me worthy of at least some of that!" Naruto yelled, clutching his fist and shaking it at Gamabunta.

"First attempt? Kick my ass? Don't make me laugh, shrimp! I'll pop your head like a balloon!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"So... What you're saying is, you won't accept me as your master?"

"Gamabunta-sama has no master! I take orders from no one!"

Naruto could see in Gamabunta's eyes that the toad was stubborn. There was a fire in his eyes that Naruto saw every day in the mirror. Heh, maybe they would be a good match if they just learned to get along.

"Well then, I'll make a bet with you, Gamabunta!"

"A bet? I'm listening..."

"You don't have to accept me as your master, but you will accept me as your summoner, and help me out if I need you. Of course, this is only if I can stay on your back until that," Naruto said, pointing at the sun, which had just started rising in the east. He moved his hand to point at the horizon in the west, "goes down there!"

"Hoh, that's an interesting bet, brat. What do I get if you lose?"

"What do you want?"

"Hehehe..." Gamabunta chuckled slowly and dangerously, narrowing his eyes. "If you fall off my back, brat, you will have to give me a full-body scrubdown with a sponge! Even in all the hard-to-reach places!"

Naruto flinched at the thought of giving a toad a sponge bath, especially one as big as Gamabunta. He immediately shook those images out of his head, however, and grinned defiantly at the toad.

"Deal, Gamabunta!"

"Senju Naruto, was it?" Gamabunta asked, and Naruto nodded. "Well then, it's a bet, Naruto! I'm not going to make it easy on you!"

Gamabunta crouched down, and then shot into the air at an unbelievable speed.

–

"NYAAAaaaa...!" a cat wearing armor cried dramatically as he flew through the air, impacting with the ground, unconscious.

Sasuke was standing in the top-most room of the Cat Fortress. The room was lit with a dim, blue light, a purple carpet leading up to a bamboo curtain, behind which a silhouette of a very large cat could be seen.

"Hoh... You made it all the way here," came a voice from behind the curtain as the silhouette's head rose slightly. "Well, I'd recognize that hairstyle anywhere. I've heard a lot about you. Uchiha Sasuke, the Neko Boutoku (Cat Defiler)..."

Sasuke blinked slowly at that.

"Neko Boutoku? That sounds disgusting... I've done nothing to earn such a name..."

"Haven't you? You were running around, all those years ago, capturing my kin and taking their pawprints!" the silhouette barked angrily. "To a cat, that's like how it is for a human to be stripped naked and photographed!"

"What so wrong about that?" Sasuke asked, a smirk appearing on his face. "Do you have anything to be ashamed about?"

"D-Don't be ridiculous, human!" the silhouette roared angrily. Sasuke's smirk widened. He must have hit a nerve...

"In any case, you are Nekomata, are you not?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow. "I understand that you have the summoning contract for the Ninneko in your possession."

"What about it?" the silhouette, Nekomata, asked, apparently calming down.

"I want it. I want the allegiance of the Ninneko, and I want you to fight for me whenever I call for you."

Nekomata was silent, and Sasuke knew his eyes had widened in shock. Then, he chuckled. The chuckle grew into a loud laugh.

"You are bold, brat, making demands of me like that! What makes you think I will give my allegiance to you?!"

"Because if you don't, I will just have to beat you until you do. It will be quite painful for you," Sasuke said simply, his Sharingan activating. "So, what will you do?"

Nekomata scoffed, and Sasuke saw him performing handseals behind the curtain, preparing to use a jutsu.

"Don't," Sasuke said, stopping the cat. "You are preparing to use a Genjutsu. I can just tell you that Genjutsu are useless against these eyes. Don't embarrass yourself by trying a jutsu that won't work."

Nekomata chuckled softly at that as he rose to his feet, walking around the curtain to stand before Sasuke. He was large and white, and the tip of his tail was purple and split in two. His body was covered in scars, but the one that stood out the most was the one going across his left eye.

"Your Sharingan has developed that much at such an early age? Truly, you are Itachi's little brother..."

Sasuke tensed. "You know Itachi?"

"He came here, four years ago," Nekomata said with a shrug. Then he grinned. "Well then, if Genjutsu won't work, I'll go with brute force!"

With that, he slammed his paw down on Sasuke...

Meanwhile, some distance away, Kakashi heard the rumble, and looked up from his book, turning to look at the fortress in the distance.

'Now I'm really curious...' he thought, giving the fortress a longing stare. 'I want to know what's happening over there!'

–

"Damn it! Fall off, you little shit!" Gamabunta barked angrily as he furiously shook his head left and right and up and down in an attempt to get Naruto to fall off his head. Naruto had attached himself with chakra, so he wasn't falling off any time soon. Slowly, Gamabunta stopped shaking his head, closing his eyes and panting. He had been at this for hours now, after all.

"Well," Naruto said, turning to look to the west, "there's still an hour left, but you can quit now, if you want?"

"Like hell I will!" Gamabunta exclaimed, shooting into the air again.

Gamabunta went at it for another full hour. Soon enough, the sun had completely disappeared behind the trees, and a panting Gamabunta exhaled loudly and glanced up at the grinning Naruto.

"Senju Naruto... You're an interesting guy... I consider myself an honorable toad, and since I lost the bet, I will honor it... I accept you as my summoner. The toads will fight for you if you need help."

"Thanks, Gama-Oyabun (Toad Boss)!" Naruto said, giving Gamabunta a thumbs up.

"I have to say, though... That blond hair fills me with nostalgia," Gamabunta said, a smirk appearing on his face. "After all, the last person to ride on my head was the Yondaime."

"Huh? My old man?"

"Yeah, it was thirteen years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. After all, you don't tend to forget it when someone summons you on top of the strongest Bijuu. When he first summoned me, he and I made a similar bet."

"Oh? He got you to accept him as his summoner, too?"

"After a while. He was a bit more respectful than you, so I took him in even after he lost, and was forced to give me a sponge bath."

Gamabunta took a drag on his pipe, letting the image of the Yondaime Hokage giving the toad a sponge bath sink in in Naruto's head. He exhaled the smoke, then stared at Naruto again.

"You have the fire of your parents in your eyes, Naruto-boy. I expect great things from you," Gamabunta said, then glanced to the west. "Well, it's late, and the kids are probably worried. Later, Naruto!"

"Later, Gama-Oyabun!" Naruto said, giving Gamabunta a lazy salute. The toad exploded into smoke, returning home, wherever that may have been.

–

Nekomata flinched as Sasuke took a step toward him. The monster cat was on the floor, beaten, his fur bloodied. He also had a cut across his right eye, matching the scar across his left.

"M-Monster...!" Nekomata grunted out, shivering. "Y-You're a monster!"

"I am Uchiha Sasuke, Konoha shinobi," Sasuke said calmly as he sheathed his sword. "And I will have what I came here for. You are beaten, Nekomata. Are you going to give it to me?"

Despite his fear, Nekomata managed a weak grin. He coughed once, then said, "You truly are Itachi's little brother... You beat me just as quickly as he did, and you were also just toying with me, damn you!"

Nekomata rolled over onto his stomach and pushed himself up, moving behind the bamboo curtain. When he came out again, he was holding a large scroll in his paw, which he handed over to Sasuke, who took it.

"Well, you beat me, there's no denying that..." Nekomata said, humming softly. "The Uchiha clan is something special, eh? I guess that being in the possession of your clan isn't such a bad thing... Nekobaa and her cats seem to like you, after all..."

"It's appreciated," Sasuke said, nodding his head to Nekomata, before turning around and walking away.

When Sasuke reached the spot where Kakashi was waiting, the Jounin immediately shot over to Sasuke, looking at him and the scroll expectantly.

"So, what did you do?" Kakashi asked eagerly. Sasuke just smirked and held up the scroll.

"I procured the Ninneko summoning contract for the Uchiha clan."

"Ninneko?" Kakashi asked, blinking. "That's a shame. I had been counting on you signing a contract with my Ninken..."

"No thanks, I prefer cats. The Uchiha clan are used to dealing with them."

'Well, at least now he's back, and I know what he was doing,' Kakashi thought as they started walking, and he fished out his book, opening it. 'Now I can focus on this again.'

–

The very next day, Hinata rose early, as she had done every day since the preliminaries ended. She could feel that she definitely had grown stronger, but she could get stronger still, there was no doubt about that. Therefore, she had requested training from her father, who had agreed.

There was little doubt that her father had been greatly surprised by Hinata's sudden improvement. In the last few spars between Hinata and Hanabi, Hinata had always been the one who remained standing. In all honesty, Hinata only had Naruto and Sasuke to thank for that.

Hinata couldn't imagine what her life would have looked like if she had lost to Sakura during the graduation, if she had ended up the girl with the second best grades, which would have landed Sakura in Team Seven, and Hinata in Team Eight.

So now, Hinata got ready, had her breakfast, put on her 'sparring uniform,' and went outside to the Hyuuga training ground, where she found her father waiting.

"Are you ready to begin?" he asked sternly, and Hinata nodded as she took her spot in front of Hiashi and assumed a Juuken stance. "Well then..." His eyes drifted shut, and he appeared to be deep in thought. "There is little doubt in my mind that, despite being of the Branch Family, the Hyuuga blood burns the hottest in Neji's veins. He is an amazing prodigy, and you are going to need all the help you can get against him, even with your drastic growth. Therefore, I will be teaching you a new technique today."

Hiashi's Byakugan activated as he opened his eyes and got into a Juuken stance.

"I will be teaching you Juukenhou: Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou (Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)!"

"Woo, Juuken!"

This whoop caused both Hyuuga to blink and turn to the side, to see Naruto and Sasuke sitting on the sidelines, grinning and smirking respectively.

"What are you doing here?" Hiashi demanded. "How did you get in?"

"Well, first and foremost, we came here to cheer for Hinata during her training," Naruto said, grinning still.

"We've both taken a day off from our own training," Sasuke supplied.

"But our secondary objective was to better protect our teammate by discovering and pointing out flaws in Hyuuga security," Naruto continued and pointed over his shoulder. "By the way, during the oh-nine hundred hours guard shift, there is a blind spot in the security in the north-west corner of the compound."

"The Hyuuga training regimen is strictly forbidden for outsiders to see!" Hiashi said, sounding a bit outraged. "You should know this! I told you that last time!"

"Well, I've been thinking about that. Sure, I'm a total badass when it comes to learning new jutsu and crap, and Sasuke here has the Sharingan, but in all honesty, the Juuken is pretty much useless to anyone who doesn't have a Byakugan, right?" Naruto asked, scratching his head. "So, I don't see what the problem is."

Hiashi's eyes narrowed dangerously, causing Naruto and Sasuke to flinch.

"So, dango?" Sasuke asked Naruto, who nodded. With that, the two blurred out of view.

"Your friends are excellent at snooping," Hiashi commented disdainfully.

"They are great friends, father," Hinata said, smiling softly. "Sasuke-kun is excellent at analyzing strength and weaknesses, and pointing out what needs to be worked on in order to become balanced, and Naruto-kun..." Hinata trailed off as she tried to find the words for it. "Well, Naruto-kun has a personality that just makes you want to become the best you can be..."

Hiashi stared at Hinata for a long time in thought. 'Hinata has never showed any real talent. A short while after becoming a Genin, her talent suddenly skyrockets... Senju Naruto, huh? What an interesting guy...'

–

Jiraiya stood in front of Naruto, his arms crossed as he stared at his new student. Currently, Naruto was sitting cross-legged on the ground with his back turned, meditating and molding chakra. All around them, the trees were moving, swaying and twisting. Jiraiya had to admit, the guy had talent, a lot more than Jiraiya did at his age. It seemed like he only inherited the best traits from his relatives. He had Kushina's temper and monstrous chakra stores, he had his father's talent, looks, and his guts. Not only that, but he had somehow managed to come up with a lesser version of Tsunade's monstrous strength, and possessed the Nidaime's senses, and the Shodai's Mokuton Ninjutsu...

'This guy is so good, it's almost unfair,' Jiraiya thought with a small grin. "Hey, Naruto."

The trees around them suddenly straightened and went still again as Naruto turned his head to look at the old pervert.

"Yeah?"

"Come here," Jiraiya said, beckoning him closer. Naruto sighed and got up, walking over.

"What? It's not another scheme to have me pose as your grandson so you can get chicks, is it?"

"Not really. I'm going to teach you a new, cool jutsu. It's a jutsu your father created," Jiraiya said, making Naruto's eyes widen with excitement. Jiraiya chuckled and held up his hand. Chakra started swirling in it, taking the form of a ball in his hand, inside which chakra was swirling wildly, looking like there was a raging chakra storm inside the ball. "This is the Rasengan, an A-rank Ninjutsu. We've only got twenty-two days left until the third exam, so I don't expect you to master it before then, but we might as well get started now."

The Rasengan died down, and Jiraiya took a scroll out of his vest, unsealing a paper bag filled with... water balloons? Jiraiya picked one up and held it out to show Naruto. Then, the balloon started bulging everywhere, and suddenly exploded.

"See what I did just now?" Jiraiya asked, raising an eyebrow. Naruto narrowed his eyes in thought as he stared at Jiraiya's drenched hand.

"You rotated the water," Naruto said, and Jiraiya nodded.

"You have done both the tree climbing and water walking chakra exercises, yes?"

"Yeah?"

"The tree climbing exercise focuses on concentrating a certain amount of chakra to your foot. This helps you work on regulating the chakra output. Water walking focuses on continuously releasing a set amount of chakra to remain on the water. In this step of the training, you use the water walking exercise, basically. You are to release a set amount of chakra into the balloon with a continuous flow," Jiraiya said, picking up a balloon and tossing it to Naruto, who furrowed his brow as he concentrated on releasing his chakra, rotating it. The balloon stretched, but it didn't start bulging like Jiraiya's balloon had.

"It doesn't look the same," Naruto noted, to which Jiraiya nodded, a smirk on his face.

"Can you figure out why?"

"Obviously, we did it differently," Naruto said as his eyes drifted closed in thought.

Jiraiya watched as Naruto stood there in silence for a good minute. Then, his hand started shaking the balloon up and down, then left and right, then diagonally, then back and forth, shaking the balloon in all directions.

Then, Naruto's eyes snapped open, and he started focusing chakra into the balloon again. This time, the balloon started bulging everywhere, before exploding.

"Oh, wow," Jiraiya said, crossing his arms with a smirk on his face. "I had been told that Sasuke was the brains of the duo. Didn't take you long to figure out the trick to the test."

"Just because Sasuke is smarter than me, that doesn't mean I'm dumb. Besides, when it comes to Ninjutsu, I'm unrivaled," Naruto said with a grin. "So, what's the next step?"

"Wait," Jiraiya said, gesturing for the bag with the balloons. "That was quick. I want you to pop ten more, so you can really get a feel for the first step. You're gonna need it. Step two is one hundred times harder."

Jiraiya took ten balloons out of the bag, then sealed it up again. As Naruto got to work popping them, Jiraiya unsealed another paper bag, this one filled with rubber balls.

"Another step like that?" Naruto asked as he was tossed one of the balls.

"Yep. Now you must break that ball," Jiraiya said, holding up a rubber ball and blowing it up with minimal effort. "The first step is rotation. This step is to add power. Without the water, it's harder to feel the chakra, so it's hard to power it up or control it. Practice this for a bit."

With that, Jiraiya turned to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Naruto asked as he stared at the ball in his hand.

"I'm heading into the village. A man needs to relax, after all. Whether you pop the ball or not, we'll meet here tomorrow, same time."

Naruto watched as Jiraiya left. Then, he turned his gaze back to the ball and did the same thing he had done with the water balloon. The ball started bulging, but only slightly, and then died down again.

"Tch... The first step was counterproductive..." Naruto muttered, sitting down. "Using water first made it seem easier than it is. Should've started with this step so you could get used to the difficulty right away..."

–

**So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Remember to leave a review!**

**Peace,**

**ZnK**


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright, officially seventh chapter is out! Now, if you're wondering why it says 'Chapter end' in the middle, it's because that's where the two chapters have been merged. And because there can be a bit of a time-skip between chapters, I felt it best to show why that is. It's because that's where the chapter was supposed to end, and then jump further ahead next chapter.**

**Anyway, with that over with, enjoy!**

–

Ten days were left until the third exam. Naruto was sitting on the ground in the same spot he had been every day for the last few weeks. Jiraiya had felt very smug. So far, Naruto had only managed to pop a hole in the balls. The boy had managed to pop the water balloon much quicker than Jiraiya, but when Naruto took so long to pop the rubber ball, he regained a bit of pride, even though he knew Naruto should have been able to pop it a long time ago.

"Concentration isn't exactly something you lack," Jiraiya said, crossing his arms as he stood before Naruto. "You should have popped this ball a long time ago. What's the problem?"

Naruto's brow furrowed as he stared at the ball in his hand.

"I'm just... worried, I suppose..."

"Worried? Why?"

"I'm getting this bad feeling... like shit's about to hit the fan, or something like that... Plus, Hinata is facing Neji in the third exam, which is cause for worry as well... I've been able to pop it since the second day," Naruto said as the ball in his hand started bulging, and then exploded, much to Jiraiya's surprise. "I just needed some time to think about things."

"Hmph," Jiraiya huffed, crossing his arms. "Show-off..."

"So, what's the third step?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.

Now, Jiraiya unsealed a third bag, this one containing balloons again. However, these balloons were filled with air, and not water.

"The first step was rotation, the second step was power," Jiraiya said, picking up a balloon and holding it up for Naruto to see. "The third step is this."

Nothing happened. Naruto started molding chakra, and his eyes widened when his senses picked up on what was happening.

"You're forming a Rasengan inside the balloon, aren't you?"

"Correct," Jiraiya said with a smirk. "The point of the third step is to bring out the first two steps at one hundred percent, and maintain it. In short, you not only have to keep the spinning and the power at their greatest, but you also have to make a layer inside the balloon to contain the chakra. This requires a large amount of concentration, because the higher the destructive power, the more you have to add, and the quicker you have to spin. Thus, the outer layer must be stronger."

Slowly, Naruto nodded. Then, he picked up a balloon and said, "Alright, time to get to work."

–

Naruto stood in a loose stance in the arena on the day of the Third Exam. With him were Sasuke, Hinata, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, Neji, Shikamaru, and Shino.

"Good thing you're here," Naruto muttered to Sasuke, smirking. "I was afraid that you'd pick up some of Kakashi's tardiness."

"Well, he actually wanted to get some last-second training in, but I wanted to be here on time," Sasuke said, smirking as well.

Naruto glanced at the Suna trio as the Kazekage arrived at the top box. Gaara was staring up at the man with nothing but hatred in his eyes. The Sandaime stood up.

"Thanks, everyone, for coming to the Konoha Chuunin Selection Exam! We will now start the main tournament matches between the nine participants who made it through the preliminaries! Please stay and watch until the end!"

"There's something I'd like to tell you before the matches," the proctor, Genma, as Naruto had learned that his name was, said, turning to them. "Look at this," he said and took out a piece of paper, showing the matches. "In case you didn't pay attention the first time, these are the match-ups. Check once again to see who you're fighting."

After holding the paper up for a few more seconds, Genma pocketed it.

"Alright, guys, this is the final test. The arena is different, but the rules are the same as in the preliminaries, as in there are none. You fight until one of you dies or acknowledges defeat. But if I determine that the fight is over, I'll step in and stop it, you got that?"

Everyone either nodded or did nothing. No one said anything, but it was clear to everyone that they all understood.

"Now, the first fight, Hyuuga Hinata and Hyuuga Neji. Those two stay here, while the rest of you go to the waiting room."

Hinata took a deep breath to steel herself. Both her teammates gave her comforting pats on the shoulders as they headed off toward the waiting room with the others.

Soon enough, only Hinata, Neji, and Genma were left on the arena floor, Hinata and Neji facing each other, with Genma standing off to the side.

"I never thought I'd be facing you, Hinata-sama," Neji said, staring hard at Hinata.

"Neji-niisan..." Hinata mumbled, closing her eyes and taking another deep breath, before opening them again.

"First match of the third exam... begin!" Genma said, officially starting the match. However, Neji apparently didn't feel like starting the match yet.

"Before we start the match, I'd like to say something, Hinata-sama," Neji said, narrowing his eyes. "You don't make a good shinobi. Forfeit now!" Hinata tilted her head to the side, and Neji explained, "You are too kind... You wish for harmony and avoid conflict. You agree with others, never resisting... And you have no confidence in yourself. I always feel your sense of inferiority. That's why I thought it would be best for you to remain a Genin. But the Chuunin Exam can only be taken as a team of three. You couldn't turn down your teammates' request, and unwillingly entered. That's reality. Am I wrong?"

"Yes," Hinata said, making Neji blink. "Kakashi-sensei told us all that it was completely voluntary to enter. We all entered willingly, without being pressured by anyone else... I entered this exam because I wanted to change..."

Neji sighed.

"Hinata-sama... As I thought, you are a spoiled brat of the Main House... People cannot change themselves! Losers are losers. Their personality and strength will not change. Because people cannot change, differences are born... Expressions like elite and loser are created. Looks, brains, ability, size, personality... All people judge and are judged in these values. Based on these unchangeable factors, people discriminate and are discriminated against. And they suffer within their own means. Just like the fact that I am from the Branch Family, and you are from the Main Family cannot be changed... I have seen through many things with this Byakugan... So I know, you are just acting strong. Deep inside, you just want to run away from here."

Hinata's eyes drifted shut, and her head lowered slowly, which made Neji smirk.

"Your eyes closed, and you ducked your head. Defense mechanisms that-"

"Neji-niisan..." Hinata interrupted in a voice that was much different from her usual voice. It was still soft and gentle, but there was an edge to it that had never been there before. When she raised her head again and opened her eyes, her Byakugan was activated, and she slipped into a Juuken stance. "Please, stop trying to talk me to death, and let's fight instead."

A bark of laughter that could be easily recognized as Naruto's was heard from the opening in the arena wall where the other competitors were standing, while Neji flinched in surprise. However, his eyes immediately hardened, and his Byakugan activated as well as he gritted his teeth and assumed a Juuken stance.

"Fine... I'll show you that you cannot change your destiny..."

Neji charged at Hinata, and the two became engaged in a Juuken fight, which was something that was actually quite beautiful to look at. The Juuken was very graceful, and when two opponent had the same graceful flow, it looked more like a violent dance than a fight.

Neji was visibly frustrated by this, as it would appear that the two were evenly matched. Each strike that Neji threw at Hinata was blocked or deflected, and each strike that Hinata threw was met with the same defenses.

The fight continued like this for several minutes, both fighters moving at amazing speeds. Naruto, watching from the stands, looked at Sasuke, who was observing the fight through narrowed eyes.

"Tch..." he uttered, crossing his arms. "She really is too soft..."

"Yeah," Naruto said with a nod. "If it were you, she'd already have you on the ground, writhing in pain."

"She used a cheap shot..." Sasuke muttered, directing a glare at Naruto. "You'd do the same if someone kicked you in the junk..."

Naruto laughed to himself, then looked down at the fight again. Naturally, he couldn't keep quiet.

"Hey, Hinata! Don't go easy on him just 'cause he's family! Kick his ass!"

As if obeying Naruto's order, Hinata surprisingly quickly batted one of Neji's attacks out of the way and lashed out, hitting him with a Juuken strike to the left shoulder. Neji grunted in both pain and surprise, skipping back a couple of steps and staring at Hinata in shock.

"I have changed, Neji-niisan," Hinata said softly, staring at Neji with pity. "People can change. I was once weak, but I have become much stronger. Naruto-kun once told me that our destiny is what we make it."

"The talk of a loser, clinging desperately to the hope of improving their life!" Neji growled out. "Don't think you can beat me, just because you managed to hit me once!"

Neji charged at Hinata, and once more they became engaged in that flowing, deadly dance that was a Juuken fight.

"Hinata! Give him the Sasuke Special!" Naruto barked out, which caused a noticeable blush to appear on Hinata's face, despite her being completely focused on fighting Neji. Meanwhile, Sasuke cringed at the mention of that move.

Hinata batted another strike out of the way, then closed the short distance between them with a spin, which ended with her knee flying up... and smashing straight into the soft spot between Neji's legs.

The male Hyuuga's eyes bugged out, and every single male member in the audience winced and covered their junk with a loud, shocked "OH!" as sympathy pain coursed through them.

As Neji was no doubt trying to blink the lights of pain out of his eyes, Hinata took advantage of the situation and got into a strange stance, crouched down slightly with her left as pointing forward and down, and her right pointing backward and up.

"Niisan, you are in the range of my Hakke... Juukenhou: Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou!"

Neji only had time to go wide-eyed, before Hinata charged forward, jabbing him twice with her fingers with a cry of, "Ni Shou!" Then four times, yelling, "Yon Shou!" This continued, Hinata doubling her strikes three more times, and finished off striking him sixty-four times with a cry of, "Rokujuuyon Shou!"

Neji cried out in pain as he flew back, spitting up blood. He impacted hard with the ground and rolled several feet, before coming to a stop on his back.

"I-Impossible...!" he grunted out through gritted teeth. "This can't...!"

"I used to think like you, Neji-niisan..." Hinata mumbled as she walked up to Neji, staring down at him. "I thought I was weak, and I was, and I thought I would never become strong like you... I bought into your comments about destiny. However, I've changed. Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun showed me that. It doesn't matter who you are, or where you are from. As long as you try your best and work hard, you can overcome anything, like how I managed to defeat you just now. Food for thought, Neji-niisan."

Genma smirked as he watched Hinata, who turned around and walked off.

"Winner, Hyuuga Hinata!"

Applause broke out in the audience. Up in the spectator's box, Sasuke was smirking and clapping, while Naruto was whooping and cheering loudly.

"Will Senju Naruto and Aburame Shino come down here, please?" Genma called out once the applause and cheering had died down.

Naruto gave a triumphant laugh as he hopped down into the arena, while Shino, calm as ever, decided to take the stairs.

Soon, Naruto and Shino were standing in the middle of the arena, facing each other.

"Naruto, we have come a long way since we were chosen to spar in the Academy," Shino said in his usual monotone. "It would be foolish of you to assume that my power level is the same as then, just as it would be foolish of me to think that of you."

"You know, Shino, I think that's the longest sentence I've ever heard you say," Naruto said with a small grin. "But you were always strong in the Academy, ranking second strongest and all, so it'll be fun to see if we still draw."

"Such an outcome is unlikely," Shino said simply, taking his hands out of the pockets of his jacket.

"Second match of the third exam... begin!" Genma called, and Shino immediately spread his arms out.

"Why is it unlikely? Because unlike in the Academy spars, we are not limited to using only Taijutsu."

'Those Destruction Bugs are damn gluttons,' Naruto thought with his eyes narrowing slightly, watching as the bugs started flying out of Shino's sleeves to swarm around him. 'I've got plenty of chakra to spare, but it'd be crappy to waste it all in the first match, especially since I'd be fighting Hinata in the next one... Shiiiit, I actually have to plan this match? I'm no good at that...'

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes widened, and he leapt to the side, jumping away several feet.

"How sneaky of you, Shino!" he said with a small grin on his face. "But unfortunately for you, I'm a pretty decent sensor. I can sense the chakra inside every single one of your bugs. They won't sneak up on me."

Shino was smart. Hell, he was a lot smarter than Naruto, so the blond knew that the bug-user was already making plans for how to proceed.

"I don't want to give you the upper hand by leaving you on the offensive, so I'm gonna go ahead, alright?" Naruto said, flashing through seals. "Mokuton: Shichuurou no Jutsu (Wood Element: Four-Pillar Prison Technique)!"

Shino's eyebrows almost shot into his hairline as timber burst from the ground all around him, trapping him inside a wooden cage. Naruto, however, furrowed his brow, and with a "Tch!" changed his handseal from a Snake to Ram, which caused wooden spikes to shoot out of the bars, impaling Shino, who dispersed into a swarm of bugs.

Naruto furrowed his brow, trying his damnedest to sense Shino. At the last second, his eyes widened, and he spun around in time to block a punch coming from behind him.

So, Shino had let almost all the bugs in his body leave so that he could hide better. If it wasn't for the fact that three bugs stayed in him, Naruto would never have sensed him.

Naruto lashed out with a punch, which was dodged, but he utilized the momentum from the swing to bring his leg up in a backspin kick, which connected with Shino's cheek with enough force to send him flying through the air, impacting hard with the wall of the arena.

"That was careless of you, Shino," Naruto said with a smirk as Shino pushed himself to his feet.

"Was it?"

Naruto went wide-eyed at that, realizing that he had let his senses dull during the fight. Activating his chakra sensor ability, he discovered no less than nineteen Destruction Bugs on his body. Damn, even for so few bugs, they were suddenly sucking out his chakra quickly.

Naruto leapt away, and only his fur-collared shirt remained in place, the only article of clothing that actually had bugs on it, leaving him in his mesh shirt and armor plating.

"Tch, your bugs are fast eaters..." Naruto muttered, flashing through seals again. "Doton: Dosekiryuu no Jutsu (Earth Element: Earth Dragon Technique)!"

Suddenly, the ground in front of Naruto shot into the air, forming a dragon made out of dirt, which charged straight at Shino, whose eyebrows shot up again, and he was forced to dodge the attack again and again. Naruto was actually planning ahead this time, so when Shino's back hit the Four-Pillar Prison, he triumphantly switched handseal from Rat to Snake, and wooden poles shot out of the bars to wrap around Shino, who muttered a "What?" in surprise.

"Shino," Naruto said as the dragon disintegrated. "I'm sure your bugs can eat through this wood. However..." He put his hand in a half-Ram seal, and a spike grew from the bar Shino was strapped against, to poke him in the back of the neck. "...could they eat through it before that spike pierced your spine?"

"This was unexpected," Shino said. "Why? Because you have never shown yourself to plan ahead before. I underestimated you. Proctor, this match is over. I forfeit."

Genma nodded and raised his hand.

"Winner, Senju Naruto!"

Surprisingly, applause broke out, which shocked Naruto, as no one had ever really shown that they liked him before. Or maybe they just did it as a courtesy. Nonetheless, Naruto liked it, so he grinned widely and raised his hands in victory as he jogged over to his shirt to pick it up, the wooden prison retreating into the ground, leaving no sign that it was ever there.

When Naruto reached the spectator's box, he found both his teammates waiting and smiling at him. Well, smirking, in Sasuke's case.

"Good job. But he almost had you with his distraction," Sasuke commented, and Naruto gave an embarrassed grin.

"Yeah, almost. I was just lucky he sent so few bugs after me. Then again, if he'd sent more, I would have sensed them sooner."

"You did great, Naruto-kun!" Hinata praised.

"I'm expecting you to do the same in the next round, Hinata," Naruto said, his grin turning excited. "It'll be you against me."

Hinata's confidence, what little she had mustered so far, vanished in an instant as she made that realization, and her eyes widened in fear.

"Don't worry," Sasuke said with a smirk. "Just give it your all, and you can walk away with your head high whether you win or not."

"Yeah, don't go soft on me, Hinata! I'm looking forward to this," Naruto said, patting her on the shoulder.

"Will Sabaku no Gaara and Kankuro come down here?" Genma called.

Immediately, Kankuro's eyes widened in fear as he cast a terrified look at Gaara, then raised his hand and called out, "Proctor, I'm gonna forfeit!"

Boos were heard from the crowd at that, their blood having started pumping with the previous two matches, and Gaara gave Kankuro a dangerous stare.

"Well then, Uchiha Sasuke and Nara Shikamaru, come on down."

Sasuke smirked, and after Naruto patted him on the shoulder, he hopped down into the arena just like Naruto had done. Shikamaru sighed to himself as he stared down at Sasuke, who gestured for him to come down.

"How troublesome... Proctor, I'm also gonna forfeit. Let the Suna girl fight him."

The crowd started booing again, but Shikamaru looked completely unaffected by them, instead just plopping down with his back against the railing, his eyes drifting shut. Temari scoffed and drew her fan, giving it a swing which mustered a gust of wind. She leapt out of the box and rode the wind on her fan down into the arena, landing in front of Sasuke with a smirk on her face.

"Alright, then... The fifth match of the first round... begin!"

Temari immediately pulled her fan back and then swung it, calling, "Fuuton: Kamaitachi (Wind Element: Sickle Weasel Technique)!"

A gale of wind was sent forth, looking more like a horizontal hurricane than anything, but Sasuke didn't dodge or anything. He just smirked and flashed through handseals, ending in a Tiger, which made Temari's eyes widen.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Sasuke called out, bringing his hand to his mouth, before blowing out a massive fireball that smashed into the Fuuton Jutsu. It drew power from the clashing technique, and the flame burned hotter as it pushed through the wind and charged straight at Temari, who leapt out of the way, just as the fireball smashed into the ground where she had just been, exploding.

Dust and smoke rose in a great cloud from the explosion, and Temari was seen coming shooting out of it. She landed a bit unsteadily, and Sasuke immediately saw why. Her right leg had been kinda badly burned by the attack, as had the back of her right hand.

The Suna Genin was gritting her teeth as she glared at Sasuke, who kept smirking.

"I think you might want to give up now, you being a Fuuton-user, and me being a Katon-user," Sasuke advised, grabbing the hilt of his sword and slowly drawing it out of its sheath. "From here on out, I'll be getting serious..."

"Heh, think I'll give up just 'cause I'm at a disadvantage?" Temari asked with a scoff. "Get real!"

"Katon..." Sasuke muttered as he finished drawing his sword and gave it a twirl to hold it horizontally in front of him. "Eisouha (Fire Element: Sharp Spear Blade)!"

Suddenly, the entire length of Sasuke's chokuto was engulfed in flames.

As Sasuke charged at her, Temari felt a bit more confident. After all, he didn't have very large flames right now, so it would be impossible for him to overpower her attacks, right?

"Fuuton: Kamaitachi!" Temari called once more, swinging her fan and sending forth a blast of wind at Sasuke. What happened next, however, greatly surprised her.

Sasuke swung his sword at the incoming attack, and amazingly deflected it... No, that was wrong, he _took control of it_! He kept spinning with his swing and leapt through the air, the entire Fuuton attack catching on fire and trailing after him in a spiral of fire, as though it was a long, burning cloth hanging from his sword.

As soon as he had crossed the distance between them with his leap, Sasuke switched to a reverse grip and slashed his sword down at Temari, whose eyes widened as she dodged. She thought dodging three steps would be enough, so she didn't expect all the fire trailing after Sasuke's blade to compile and slam into the ground as well, and like water against rock splashing to the sides, rushing straight at Temari, who barely had time to gasp before it smashed into her.

Temari was heard screaming as she hurriedly jumped out of the fire, but much of her body was already badly burnt, and some of her clothing was on fire.

Landing on unsteady legs, she patted the fires out as quickly as she could, but not quickly enough. As soon as she looked up, Sasuke was already in front of her, and half a second later, his knee was planted deeply in her stomach, making her cough up a decent wad of both blood and spit. Next second, the butt of his sword impacted with the back of her head, effectively knocking her out.

"Going against an Uchiha using Jutsu that are weak against my own..." Sasuke muttered, the fire on his blade vanishing as he twirled it a few times, before slowly sheathing it. After the hilt clicked against the sheath, he shook his head with a scoff. "Foolish..."

"Winner, Uchiha Sasuke!"

Surprisingly, the cheers for Sasuke weren't all that much louder than the cheers had been for Naruto. Even more surprisingly (or it would be for anyone who didn't truly know Sasuke), he wasn't upset about this. As Naruto was damn near his brother, he felt the blond deserved the acknowledgment for his victories as much as Sasuke himself did. After all, he could do almost every Sasuke could, and yet his intelligence could only rival a brick.

"Huh..." Naruto muttered in the stands, narrowing his eyes.

"What is it, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"It's strange. Sasuke won, so I'm feeling happy for him, but for some reason... I also feel a sudden urge to slug him on the mouth..."

Hinata giggled at that. After all, both Naruto and Sasuke had, ever since she became part of Team Seven, almost always been able to sense when the other was talking about them. In fact, during one workout session, Sasuke had revealed to Hinata that he admired Naruto, because he was an idiot who actually managed to succeed. Five minutes later, Naruto had come rushing onto the training ground (having been at home before that), and punched Sasuke on the jaw, claiming that he got a sudden urge to do so. And once, Naruto had muttered something about Sasuke being a stuck-up prick who probably cheated at Janken with his Sharingan somehow while they were at Ichiraku Ramen, having lunch. A few minutes later, Sasuke had showed up and smacked Naruto on the back of the head.

Hinata still didn't understand how they could sense those things.

"There will be a half-hour break right now, to allow the fighters to recuperate before the second round fights," Genma announced. "Please wait patiently until the next match is called."

"Hey, hey, here he comes," Naruto said with a grin as Sasuke came up the stairs into the spectator's box, a smirk on his face. "That bit with the Eisouha at the end? Freaking beautiful, man."

"I-I agree, Sasuke-kun," Hinata said, smiling softly. "You moved with a... very nice flow."

"Graceful, even," Naruto said, then struck a very fruity pose with his arms flapping slowly like wings, and his right leg extended backward as if making to leap into the air. "Almost like a swan."

"Say what you will, I don't think swans are very graceful," Sasuke said with a shrug, which made Hinata's eyes widen. It was a well-known fact that the swan was her favorite bird.

"I... I suppose that depends... on the person looking at it..." she muttered, but both Naruto and Sasuke could see the small glare she was sending Sasuke's way, which was a huge step forward compared to how she was back at the Academy.

"So, is there a reason why we're talking about freakin' swans during our break?" Naruto asked, leaning back against the railing while furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Do you have something better to talk about?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow, which made Naruto hum as he tilted his head back in thought.

"Fingers," he said after a moment of silence, which made his teammates blink. He held up his hands to show them his fingers. "Look at them. Why are they called fingers when you never see a... _fing_?"

Naruto burst out laughing at his own joke, but the laughter slowly died down when he noticed that his teammates (yes, even Hinata) were looking at him like he had just stuck his finger in poo and then licked it off.

Without warning, Naruto was socked on the mouth by Sasuke.

"Ow!" Naruto whined, clutching at his mouth. "What the hell, man?!"

"It was a just punishment," Sasuke hissed with narrowed eyes. "I felt my _own_ IQ drop from hearing that crap."

"Geez, I get it, Sasuke gets testy after a fight..." Naruto muttered as he licked the inside of his lips to check for blood. "Good thing your punches feel like there were three pillows between your fist and my face."

Sasuke looked on the verge of snarling at Naruto, but it was only his pride as an Uchiha holding him back from doing so. Sasuke took a deep breath, and reminded himself that Naruto was only trying to rile him up, and he wouldn't give the blond the satisfaction of him getting pissed.

"So, when this is over, what are we eating?" Naruto asked, changing the subject, seeing as Sasuke wasn't going to snap at him. The Uchiha in question raised his fist for another Janken, but Naruto pointed at their other teammate. "Let Hinata decide for once."

"W-Whatever you two want is... is fine by me..." Hinata mumbled, but both Naruto and Sasuke turned to give her stern looks.

"Hinata..." Naruto muttered, which made Hinata jump, as his tone held the promise of tougher training sessions, a usual punishment he and Sasuke had taken to threatening her with whenever she reverted to her meek, quiet self.

"U-Um... Y-Yakiniku sounds good..."

"That's a good idea. I have no objections," Naruto said, and Sasuke nodded.

"Same here, sounds good."

The half-hour break passed kinda slowly for Team Seven. Sasuke spent it by juggling kunai, Naruto sat against the railing and tried to touch his nose with his tongue, and Hinata spent it by closing her eyes and fantasizing about... something... Every so often, she would smile or blush, so whatever it was must have been good.

"Alright, I'm thinking of something... lavender," Naruto said when the half-hour was almost up, sitting on the railing. Sasuke was leaning against it with his left arm and right elbow, his chin resting in the palm of his right hand as he looked out at the arena.

"Is it Hinata's eyes again?"

"Man, you're good at this!" Naruto praised with a grin. "Alright, now I'm thinking of something... red."

"The Sandaime's hat."

"Damn it! I thought for sure you'd guess Gaara's hair!"

"Alright, the first match of the second round is about to begin!" Genma announced, having flickered into view in the center of the arena.

"Oh, thank whatever deity is out there..." Sasuke muttered in relief.

Those in the crowd who had left the stadium during the break had by now returned, and were eagerly awaiting the following matches.

"Hyuuga Hinata and Senju Naruto, you know the drill," Genma said, and both Naruto and Hinata hopped down into the arena. They walked to the center and stood across from each other, Naruto smiling, and Hinata looking nervous. Genma looked them over. "Alright, I hope you're both rested and ready, because the first match of the second round begins... now!"

Slowly, Hinata got into a Juuken stance, and Naruto got into his own unorthodox fighting stance, his smile turning into a grin.

"Don't be nervous, Hinata," he said with the encouraging voice he always used during spars to get her to push herself to her limits and beyond. "I'm really happy to be able to test myself against you. Let's make this as fun as possible, yeah?"

"O-Okay, Naruto-kun..." Hinata said softly, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. As she did, her back straightened slightly, her shoulders relaxed, and she shifted her footing slightly. Then, when her eyes snapped open, her Byakugan was activated. "I'm ready."

They stood stock still for a few moments. Hinata's brow furrowed.

"Naruto-kun?"

Naruto gave a small laugh.

"To be honest, I'm a little nervous of getting in close with you. You're dangerous in close-quarter combat. But then, I really want to push you, so... I'm a little torn... Please, make the first move, so I won't have to bother with thinking too much. Might blow a fuse."

Hinata, to her credit, only hesitated for a second, torn between the horror at the thought of hurting Naruto, and the urge to comply with his request. The latter won out, and she charged at Naruto, who grinned wider. The grin disappeared, however, when he barely dodged the first strike, the same with the following five strikes.

This was different from the spars. When they trained, they always pushed themselves to their limits, and even though they put on the show of doing the same during spars, they always tended to hold back a bit. Even though Naruto knew that Hinata had been doing the same, he didn't know exactly how much until this match.

Naruto caught Hinata's wrist and stepped into her, his shoulder under her arm, and flipped her over him. To his great surprise, however, she landed on her feet and immediately spun around, hitting him with a Juuken strike to the kidney, which made him gasp in pain, before immediately leaping away to create a bit of distance between them. Alright, so maybe going easy on her to push her to her limits was a bad idea...

As it stood, Hinata and Naruto were probably equal in speed. No, it was slight, but Hinata was a bit faster than him. It showed when she closed the distance between them and attacked again. Naruto was hard-pressed to dodge and deflect the swift strikes being launched at him without pause. He just had to endure, that was the key. Let her tire herself out. He could outlast her three times over with ease, there was no doubt about that. But then, that would be unfair to Hinata.

He deflected a double strike, and quickly put his hands in a Snake seal, causing wooden poles to shoot out of the ground, heading straight for Hinata to restrain her. Hinata, however, did the smart thing and leapt back, no doubt sensing Naruto's intention of forcing her to do so.

'Alright, time to actually think. Beat her in a way that will let her learn to fix the weakness. Just gotta find a weakness, beyond the obvious lack of stamina, and the weakness against long-range attacks... Let's see...' Naruto's eyes drifted shut, but he made sure to keep his senses up so he'd know if Hinata attacked again. 'Shiiiit! Thinking about crap like this is Sasuke's department! Hm... The Juuken is pretty damn flawless, flowing, powerful, devastating, and perfectly balanced. I need to... Wait... Balanced... That's it!'

Naruto was lucky that he came up with his solution when he did, as Hinata chose that moment to charge at him. Naruto grinned and knelt down, bringing his fist down and unleashing as much chakra as possible when he struck the dirt.

The result was a punch so hard that it cracked the ground and shook it something fierce, enough to make Hinata, who was just about to attack, stumble in surprise.

Now, despite this being an official match, Naruto still decided to strike Hinata as he did during spars. He had never liked so much as the thought of bruising her, but had agreed when she had said that it was important that she learn not to flinch when encountering pain in the field. Therefore, he crossed the distance between then and did a backhanded swing, planting his forearm in her stomach, which made her gasp in surprise and pain.

He rolled her over his shoulder again, and this time it worked in tossing her onto her back. Confident that she had come back to her senses by now, he jumped and spun, bringing his fist down toward her. For a moment, he feared that he was wrong, but at the last second, Hinata rolled out of the way as his fist smashed into the ground. Even more surprising, she spun on her back and smashed her heel into Naruto's face with enough force to cause him to tumble across the ground a few feet. He recovered, though, shooting to his feet at the same time as Hinata.

Naruto went on the offensive this time, but when he reached Hinata, he didn't attack, instead kneeling and punching the ground again, which once more shook her off-balance. The Hyuuga heiress was surprisingly quick to adapt to this tactic, however, and had regained her balance long before Naruto came up in an uppercut, which was easily dodged and countered with another Juuken strike that hit him in the side of his ribcage with enough force to send him stumbling.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke up. "I... I understand your desire to... to push me in this fight... but I don't want you to stick with Taijutsu when you know that it has you at a disadvantage. I-I won't be offended if you... use Jutsu..."

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, and when Hinata nodded, he started going through handseals. "Well, if you insist..."

Naruto finished his chain in a Ram seal, and his cheeks puffed out. Then, he fired a ball of water at Hinata, who danced out of the way. Not finished, though, he fired three more at her. The third one was in a path where he had predicted that she would be. So, with a cry of surprise, Hinata dodged right into the ball of water, which knocked her off her feet.

"Gotcha!" Naruto said as he flashed through handseals again, then slammed his hands down into the ground, which started shaking as three wooden poles shot out of the ground and wrapped around Hinata, suspending her upside-down in the air.

"I win," Naruto announced to Hinata, who smiled softly at him.

"Congratulations, Naruto-kun!"

"Hey, you should be proud, Hinata," Naruto praised, grinning. "I had to use Ninjutsu to defeat you. If this had been purely Taijutsu, you probably would have won. Anyway, I think you'll have to concede to have the proctor call it."

"U-Um, Proctor?" Hinata uttered, glancing to the side at Genma. "I... I give up..."

"Winner, Senju Naruto!" Genma called out, which caused the crowd to cheer once more.

–Chapter end–

"Aaaaaah," Naruto moaned as he came up the stairs into the competitor's box, clutching at his ribs. "That last strike hurt something fierce..."

"Serves you right," Sasuke said with a smirk, passing him, as his match against Gaara was coming up. "Shouldn't have gone easy on our girl like that."

"I just wanted to enjoy the fight as long as possible..." Naruto muttered, walking up to the railing and sitting down, just as Gaara vanished in a swirl of sand, reappearing down in the arena.

This turned out to be an uncomfortable position, however, so he stood up and leaned forward against the railing instead. This didn't work, either, so he straightened up and tilted his head to the side, before grunting and trying another position.

"Um... Naruto-kun?" came Hinata's voice as she ascended the stairs and approached Naruto, whose eyes narrowed.

"Mm..." he uttered in response, placing one hand against the railing with the other in his pocket, his brow furrowed as he tried to adjust himself into a comfortable position.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Gaara," Naruto said, staring down at the redhead. "His chakra feels vile... And he doesn't exactly look like the most stable child in daycare, so..."

"You're worried about Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked as she walked up to stand next to him.

"No! No, I'm not worried... Sasuke is strong. Could probably wipe the floor with Gaara..."

"Then why are you fidgeting, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed again.

"Because I don't think Gaara is as inclined to hold back as Sasuke is..." he muttered, but managed to tear his gaze away from the arena floor to look around the stands, taking in everyone's expectant expressions. "This is probably the match everyone was looking forward to the most. Oh, there's Kakashi-sensei. Let's go say hi."

Meanwhile, down in the arena, Sasuke and Gaara were staring into each other's eyes. Sasuke hated to admit this, but Gaara had pretty intimidating eyes. It was as though he saw Sasuke as nothing but a bug to be crushed, and he had complete confidence that his power level allowed him to think as such.

This made him dangerous. Besides, Sasuke had seen Gaara's power in the preliminaries. Not only did he have that sand that rose up to protect him from attacks, but he also had that second skin of sand to protect him as well. He could also control his sand with ease, and use it to crush his opponents. Sasuke would have to be an idiot to think that the sand in the gourd was the only sand Gaara could control.

Scraping his foot slightly against the ground, Sasuke took in the texture and found himself gritting his teeth in annoyance. In all likelihood, the very ground was Gaara's weapon. But then, Sasuke was sure the sand techniques were Doton techniques, which meant that it was weak against Lightning, Sasuke's second element, which was just perfect.

"Begin!" Genma called, and Gaara's sand immediately shot out of his gourd, which caused Sasuke to leap back to put some distance between them. Gaara looked ready to attack, but then he suddenly clutched at his head, grunting in pain.

"Don't... get so angry... mother..." he whispered with a crazed look on his face. "I fed you some nasty blood last night... I'm sorry... But this time... it will be delicious..."

Gaara flinched in pain and gave another grunt, lowering his face so that Sasuke couldn't see his face. When he raised it again, however, the crazed look was gone, and all that was left was his usual deadened look.

"Come," he ordered.

Sasuke didn't charge in recklessly. Instead, he took a moment to think about this.

In all honesty, despite Sasuke's Lightning element, Naruto would probably have been the best match for Gaara. He could easily spam clones to sneak one past the defenses, then use his monstrous strength to punch straight through the second defense. After all, if Sasuke used his latest move on Gaara, and had to punch through the sand shield, then even if he managed to hit Gaara, his arm would still be surrounded by sand.

Sasuke saw what happened to Lee when he got his arm and leg trapped in Gaara's sand, after all, so he knew what it could do.

'If I'm going to use Taijutsu, I can't slow down. In and out before he can react. If I stay too close for too long, I'm history,' Sasuke thought, narrowing his eyes, which turned red as he activated his Sharingan. 'At least with this, I'll be able to see it coming more easily...'

Sasuke gave a small scoff of amusement as he pulled back his sleeves to show the weight bracelets on his wrists.

"I suppose there should be no underestimating you. So, I shouldn't hold back," he said as he tapped the bracelets against each other, causing them to come loose and fall to the ground. Having long since moved on to chakra weights (courtesy of Naruto), Sasuke only needed them on his wrists to make sure he had weight on all of his body, not just his arms. So when the bracelets dropped, he felt light, which made him smirk.

"Here I go," he muttered softly, before blurring out of view. Half a second later, he reappeared in front of Gaara and sent a punch at him, which was blocked by the sand, which shot up to form a shield in front of the redhead.

Not deterred in the slightest, Sasuke blurred out of view again and reappeared behind Gaara, pleased to see that his speed was better than the sand's, given how his next punch connected with Gaara's cheek, lifting him off the ground.

"I'm not done yet!" Sasuke announced as Gaara went flying, and he blurred out of view again, reappearing underneath the airborne Gaara and kicking upwards, sending him shooting up into the air. Sasuke blurred away one more. This time, he reappeared behind Gaara in the air, a smirk on his face.

In the stands, standing with Kakashi and Hinata, Naruto's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but laugh softly.

"Kage Buyo? Heh, even when he's getting his ass kicked, it seems he can't resist copying moves..."

"Let's see if I can't break through that armor of yours," Sasuke said to Gaara as he flipped him around and swung his left arm, smashing his forearm into Gaara's ribs with enough force to spin him in the other direction, at which point he swung his right arm, slamming into his other side.

Sasuke repeated this move several times, finishing off with a forearm to the throat, which flung Gaara downward so he was below Sasuke, who flipped in the air once, then brought his heel down into Gaara's chest just as the redhead impacted with the ground.

"Shishi Rendan (Lion Combo)!" Sasuke proclaimed triumphantly as he saw Gaara's face crack, som chips of sand armor flying off him.

Sasuke, however, wasn't fool enough to think that this attack would slow Gaara down, and therefore leapt back to catch his breath. There was something about that move that kind of drained him. Besides, it wasn't like Gaara could repair the armor in a matter of seconds, so Sasuke had time.

'Though if I had Naruto's strength, I could have probably finished the match with that blow. It pains me to admit this, but I don't have the chakra control necessary for such strikes. During training, yes, but in a split second in the middle of a battle? Hell no. Only Naruto and Tsunade could pull that crap off... Freakish Senju...'

Gaara pushed himself to his feet, panting, his deadened look long gone, to be replaced by a look of rage.

'What's he doing now?' Sasuke thought with narrowed eyes as Gaara put his hands in a Ram seal.

The sand surrounding Gaara rose up to form a ball around him, an impenetrable shield. This made Sasuke's eyes widen, and he rushed forward toward the only opening in the sand, praying he'd make it in time.

'If he shuts himself in there, he'll be able to recuperate in peace!'

The opening Sasuke was aiming for with his punch was rapidly closing. Sadly, however, he wasn't fast enough. The sand was sealed just as his punch connected, and a large amount of sand spikes shot out of the ball with such speed that it was only thanks to his Sharingan that Sasuke was able to dodge them without injury, leaping back to create some distance between them again.

"Well, Naruto already knows I copied it, but I had been hoping to wait to show him until the finals..." Sasuke said with a small smirk as an eyeball of sand was formed floating above the sand shield. "But I guess you're too tough for me to go through this match without using it."

Sasuke flipped backward several time, up onto the arena wall, then smirked wider as he stretched a bit.

"Well, let's see how this holds up in a real fight," he said to himself as he flashed through three seals, before gripping his right wrist with his left hand.

A spark flashed in the palm of his hand, then another, until his hand was enveloped in Lightning chakra, so condensced that it could be seen with the naked eye.

In the stands, Naruto's eyebrows shot up.

"Oh, wow, Sasuke isn't exactly holding back. I guess he wasn't as inclined to do so as I thought."

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata said, giving Naruto a quizzical look.

"Sasuke has pushed a whole fifth of his chakra into that single attack," Naruto explained, looking impressed. "That beast should cut through anything."

Sasuke, on the wall, smirked wider as his Sharingan started spinning. Then, he took off. The only thing showing where he was running was the trench his lightning-covered hand left in the wall and the ground as he charged at Gaara. The lightning in his hand gave off a chirping sound, like thousands of birds shooting toward the target.

"Chidori!" Sasuke cried as he stabbed his hand into the sand, the corners of his mouth curving up into a triumphant smirk as his hand sank through the sand, and into something warm and wet on the other side. He could feel bone at his fingertips, but it wasn't a spine. So, his aim had been a bit off. Probably just hit him in the shoulder, or the chest puncturing a lung at best. Better than nothing, though.

"Gotcha," Sasuke said simply, glaring at the sand dome with his blazing Sharingan.

"What's... this warm stuff?" came Gaara's voice from within. "Mother... what did... Ahh... UWAAAAAAH! BLOOD! MY... MY BLOOD!"

"Tch, shit!" Sasuke muttered as he felt the sand tightening around his arm. He tried to pull it out, but the sand was just gripping him harder and harder. It wasn't just around his arm where the dome was. It was the entire length, all the way down to his wrist where his hand was buried in Gaara's body.

Sasuke's Sharingan started spinning again as he charged even more Lightning chakra into his attack, which caused the lightning to cover him all the way up to mid-bicep. Another cry of pain came from Gaara inside the dome, and Sasuke felt the sand loosen enough for him to pull his arm out.

He pulled something else out with it.

Some kind of demonic-looking sand arm was holding onto his own arm. He managed to escape from its grip and jumped back, gritting his teeth. Sasuke looked down at his arm to see that it was cut in several places, and was already starting to bruise.

"Some pressure you've got there..." he muttered with a scoff.

The sand dome bled away to reveal Gaara, panting and clutching at the hole Sasuke had punched in his shoulder. His eyes were wide and looked more crazed than ever.

Suddenly, Sasuke saw a feather drift down in front of him. Looking around, he saw that a whole heap of feathers were falling from the sky.

"Genjutsu?" he asked, cancelling it with his Sharingan. Looking up at the stands, he saw Naruto and Hinata putting their hands in a Ram seal and cancelling it as well.

In a blur, Naruto and Hinata had joined Sasuke down on the arena floor.

"This is interference," Sasuke commented offhandedly, to which Naruto gave a grin.

"Somehow, I don't think this Genjutsu is Gaara's doing," the blond said, looking around at all the sleeping people in the stands. "Any theories?"

"Why are you asking me? I've been a bit busy, if you hadn't noticed."

A smoke bomb suddenly went off in the Hokage's box, making Team Seven go wide-eyed. They didn't have time to focus on that, however, as four more people blurred into view in front of them. It was Genma, Temari, Kankuro, and the Suna jounin Baki.

"Naruto!" Sasuke barked at his best friend, who gave him his full attention. "Go check on Hokage-sama."

"What about you?"

"Something's off about this freak," Sasuke said as an explosion went off in the distance. When the smoke cleared, they could see a massive three-headed snake having been summoned outside the east wall. "Evidently, this is some kind of invasion, and that snake-freak is at the center of it. Judging by the smoke bomb, the Sandaime is the target. You're a Senju. Protecting the Will of Fire is somewhat your duty, no? I'll take care of Gaara."

"Tch, there you go, taking charge again," Naruto mumbled. "Alright, I'll leave this to you, Sasuke, Hinata."

"Yeah."

"Good luck, Naruto-kun..."

Naruto gave both of his teammates a pat on the shoulder, then blurred out of view and reappeared on the roof in front of the Kage's box, just in time for the Kazekage's two bodyguards to be sliced in half by an ANBU (a captain, judging by the white robe he wore). A blur shot out of the smoke, landing on the roof of the box.

It was the Kazekage, and he was holding the Sandaime from behind with a kunai at his throat.

"Jiji!" Naruto yelled, his eyes wide in shock.

Four shapes shot out of the four halves of the bodyguards, to form a square formation some distance around the Kazekage. Naruto and the four ANBU shot after them, but didn't have time to catch them before they all formed seals, and a purple barrier formed around the Kazekage and Hokage. Sensing the potent chakra in the barrier, Naruto's eyes widened when he noticed that two of the ANBU were on a collision course.

"Shit!" he grunted out as his hands formed a Snake seal. Two wooden poles shot out of the roof and wrapped around the ANBU, catching them before they hit the barrier, and another pole shot out for the still airborne Naruto to land on. "Don't touch it!" he barked at the ANBU as he hopped down to land next to the captain, while the poles set down the two ANBU. "This barrier is superheated. You'll burn to a crisp."

"Thanks for the assist, Naruto-san," the captain spoke in a surprisingly calm and collected voice. But then, one could expect no different from a veteran ANBU. "My expertise lies mostly in assassination techniques. I hear you're a decent sensor. Any ideas?"

"There's no way anything physical will pierce that barrier, and neither will any chakra pass through," Naruto said, analyzing the barrier. "It's a four point barrier, so only one of the casters needs to be taken out for the whole thing to come crashing down."

"And since we can't pierce it, we can only rely on Hokage-sama to bring it down from the inside," the captain concluded, nodding. "Shit..."

Naruto looked down at the arena floor, to see the trio of Suna genin rush off, probably at the order of their sensei. He was pleased to see that Sasuke and Hinata gave chase not even a second later. When he looked back to the Hokage, he saw the Kazekage reaching up and literally pulling his own face off like a mask, to reveal a pale, snake-like face underneath.

"Orochimaru!" Naruto growled out through narrowed eyes. 'Shit, he's good. Managed to hide his chakra signature from me until now... So, in the forest... he wanted me to know where he was?'

They watched as Orochimaru released the Sandaime and walked a few steps away from him, taking off the Kazekage hat and robes. The Sandaime removed his robes as well, to show that he was wearing battle armor underneath, an unusually serious look on his face.

"So, if Hokage-sama could take out just one of those four, we could join in..." the captain muttered, giving off a "Tsk!" of frustration.

As if hearing him, the four Oto-ninja forming the barrier suddenly formed another one inside, protecting them from attack.

Naruto gritted his teeth at that and knelt down to the roof and pressed a finger against the tiles, while his other hand formed a half-Ram seal.

"What are you...?" another ANBU asked in confusion.

"I'm trying to find a weak spot..." Naruto muttered, putting all of his concentration into the sensing. Then, his eyes widened when he felt that it was only a thin layer of chakra connecting the bottom of the 'box', and not an actual barrier. He flashed through seals at an amazing speed, ending in a Snake seal.

"Mokuton: Shimeru Budounoki no Jutsu (Wood Element: Strangling Vines Technique)!" he called out as the roof started rumbing. Then, several wooden poles, thinner than his usual ones, burst out of the roof under the four Oto-ninja, wrapping around them and lifting them into the air. The attack broke their concentration, and the barrier faded out of view as the vine-like wood wrapped around them tightly enough to make them cry out in pain. They moved upward, wrapping around the next of the Oto-ninja. One of them seemed to have two heads, so he took no chances and wrapped a vine around both neck.

Then, they tightened.

Cracks were heard, and all four bodies went slack, their struggles ceasing.

Now that the barrier was down, and the four Oto-ninja were down, Naruto and the four ANBU rushed over to the Sandaime to stand protectively in front of him.

"Orochimaru!" the ANBU captain exclaimed. "You will not lay a hand on Hokage-sama!"

"What's this?" Orochimaru asked, a smirk on his face which was absolutely terrifying in Naruto's opinion. "Four flies have joined the fray... Unfortunately, such prey is too weak for my tastes... I'll have you disappear now."

"You bastard...!" the captain yelled out and made to charge.

"Stop!" the Sandaime ordered. "Yura, take your team and make sure the guests are alright. Naruto, I think your skills will be put to better use pursuing Gaara."

The ANBU hesitated for only a second, but then dashed off. Naruto, however, stayed right where he was.

"Naruto-"

"Don't try to send me away, Jiji," Naruto said simply. "Remember, I'm a Mokuton user. Given your teachers, my techniques should be the ones you work best with, right? Although I doubt I'm at your power level, I can at the very least provide you with backup."

The Sandaime stared into Naruto's unflinching eyes for a moment, then sighed, a small smile on his face.

"Very well," he said finally. "This may very well be my last fight. I'm happy that I will be fighting next to you."

Naruto was way too proud to announce aloud just how much those words moved him. He just grinned and turned toward Orochimaru, who was simply watching them in amusement.

"How touching. Well then, Sarutobi-sensei... It seems your beloved surrogate grandson gets to watch you die."

"The shock's worn off," Naruto said, his fists clutching. "You won't be able to freak me out again."

"We'll see," Orochimaru said with a sickening grin. His hands shot up and formed seals at a speed Naruto had trouble keeping up with, and the Sandaime had already flung a shuriken at Orochimaru and was also flashing through seals.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin!" the Sandaime called, and Naruto watched as the one shuriken turned into fifty, all of them heading straight for Orochimaru, who finished his chain of seals by clapping his hands together.

"Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei (Summoning: Impure World Resurrection)!"

The Sandaime's eyes widened when two coffins rose out of the roof. One had the kanji for 'One' on it, and the other had the kanji for 'Two'.

"The hell...?" Naruto uttered as the Sandaime flashed through seals again, ending in a Snake seal as the fifty shuriken impacted with the coffins, which Orochimaru used as a shield. "Jiji, what is this?"

"Prepare yourself, Naruto-kun," the Sandaime said in a very grave tone of voice. "You are about to meet your ancestors."

"My...?" Naruto trailed off as the lids of the coffins fell down to reveal who was inside.

Standing in the coffin marked 'One' was a man with tanned skin (despite the lack of blood in the body), and waist-length black hair combed back with two single locks framing his face. He wore all black, along with dark red armor, traditional back during the Warring States Period. And standing in the coffin marked 'Two' was a tall, fair-skinned man with white, shaggy hair, dark-colored eyes, and three red markings on his face, one under each of his eyes, and one on his chin. He too wore traditional shinobi armor, but this one was blue, and he also had a white fur collar that Naruto easily recognized, along with the happuri on his face.

"Shodai... Nidaime..." Naruto uttered in surprise.

"It's been a long time, Saru," the Nidaime spoke, his gaze drifting toward Naruto.

"Oh, it's you. Hm... You've grown old, haven't you, Sarutobi?" the Shodai said, sounding, if only slightly, amused.

"I would not have thought I would meet with you two brothers again in a situation like this..." the Sandaime muttered. "It is regrettable... Please prepare to be defeated... Shodai-sama! Nidaime-sama!"

"It's them, isn't it?" Naruto asked, the hope he had been clinging to that this was just an elaborate Genjutsu slipping away from him.

"Oh, who is this, Saru?" the Nidaime asked. "A copycat?"

"Actually, Senju Naruto is Shodai-sama's great, great grandson," the Sandaime informed them, smiling slightly for the first time. "Quite the inheritor of your wills."

"I wish we could have met under different circumstances, Jijis," Naruto said with a bow of his head.

The Nidaime hummed and looked behind him at Orochimaru.

"Edo Tensei, huh? This youngster is the one who summoned us with a Kinjutsu, huh? He's quite something."

"If that's so, then, Sarutobi, Naruto! I guess that would mean that we would have to fight against you," the Shodai said regretfully.

"How about you cease the old folks chatter, and get started, why don't you?" Orochimaru said as he approached the two Hokage, raising his hands, both of which held a kunai with a tag hanging from each.

"No matter how much the world changes... there is always fighting..." the Shodai muttered, which made Orochimaru chuckle.

"You like it that way, though, right?"

"Making tools of the dead... Nothing good will come of playing with time!" the Sandaime scolded, narrowing his eyes at the snake freak.

–

Meanwhile, now far from the walls of Konoha, Sasuke and Hinata were in hot pursuit of Gaara.

"I-I'm a bit worried about Naruto-kun..." Hinata said softly, her Byakugan activated.

"Don't worry about him, he can handle himself," Sasuke said reassuringly. "Just focus on the task at hand, alright? We'll meet up with Naruto for yakiniku later."

He gave Hinata a soft smile. Usually, one wouldn't have thought anything of it, but coming from Sasuke, who rarely smiled at anyone, this showed Hinata that the Uchiha had complete confidence in not only Naruto's ability to survive, but also their own.

Hinata, steeling herself, nodded. Then, her eyes widened.

"Sasuke-kun, we have pursuers!"

Sasuke tensed up at hearing that. "How many?"

"Eight- no, nine ninja with Otogakure headbands..."

"And there's only two of us... Not great for laying an ambush..." Sasuke muttered, gritting his teeth.

"No, even then... their commander is Orochimaru, a former Konoha ninja..."

"Which means they know our tactics," Sasuke concluded. "That Kankuro guy talked to his sensei like Gaara was an important weapon in this invasion, which means that it will most likely be difficult to fight him, his siblings, _and_ the Oto-ninja at the same time..."

"Divide and conquer..." Hinata mumbled, to which Sasuke nodded.

"Yeah... We'd have to split up, one of us acting as a decoy for the Oto-ninja, while the other keeps up the pursuit."

"I... I can..."

Sasuke turned his head to look at Hinata, to see her giving him a small smile.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm sorry for being selfish, but I think Gaara would be the more difficult opponent... That's why... I can stay behind, and act as a decoy."

At this, Sasuke looked ahead once more, his eyes narrowing. He gave off a noise of agreement, albeit reluctantly, then turned to look at Hinata again.

"If you don't survive this, I'm going to drag you out of the afterlife to kill you myself, understand?"

Hinata gave a nervous smile and a nod, then promptly stopped on the next branch they landed on, while Sasuke kept going. She took a deep breath in an attempt to steady herself, her eyes drifting shut.

No less than three minutes later, eight of the Oto-ninja landed on the forest floor below, to find Hinata standing there waiting for them, her eyes with a hardened edge to them.

"What's this?" the evident leader of the ninja uttered, sounding amused. "One brat?"

"It's the Hyuuga girl we were warned about," an Oto-ninja to the leader's left said. "Remember, we shouldn't play around with this team..."

Hinata got into a Juuken stance and glared at the ninja with her Byakugan.

"This is as far as you're going to go," she announced as firmly as she could, but even then it was still soft, and evidently didn't carry much weight, as the ninja just started laughing at her.

Any other genin, save for maybe Sasuke and Naruto, would have been caught off-guard by the ninth ninja coming down at her from behind, but not Hinata. Her Byakugan saw it, and she was sure she surprised the other ninja when she spun around and deflected the kunai aimed for her head, before swiftly delivering a Juuken strike to the man's throat.

Hinata felt the bile rise in her throat when she felt the man's throat give away from her strike, which crushed it easily, but she was a ninja, and these men were enemies, so she couldn't afford to go into shock right now.

"You bitch!" the leader exclaimed in shock, then gave a hand signal, which caused the other seven to charge at Hinata, who steeled herself and took a deep breath as she spun to face them.

Her spar with Hanabi hadn't meant much. Prodigy or not, Hanabi was still a child. And Naruto and Sasuke always held back in spars. Therefore, Hinata had doubted how much progress she had made in her training.

Now, however, fighting these men, she could tell how much she had progressed, and could tell that Naruto and Sasuke had held back much less than they claimed.

The strikes seemed to come at her in slow motion, and she dodged and countered with a surprising ease. Plus, this fight gave her an opportunity to test out the new move she had been working on, a combination born from her father's Kaiten (Revolving Heaven) and her training in Medical Ninjutsu.

"Juukenhou: Senpuu no Mesu (Heavenly Fist Art: Whirlwind Scalpels)!" she proclaimed as the four remaining ninja came at her from all around her. She started spinning with an amazing speed, but unlike the Kaiten, she didn't create a dome of chakra. Instead, she covered her hands with chakra scalpels, and became a spinning top of invisible blades, slicing into the enemy with blades so thin that the wounds weren't even visible.

But their internal organs took damage, that was for sure.

To the four attacking ninja it looked as though Hinata had just spun and hit them with karate chops, felt like it, too. And for a moment, there was silence.

Then, the four victims cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground, clutching at their chests.

"Im... Impossible...!" the leader growled out as he clutched at his chest. "W-What did you...?"

"I severed several muscles around your heart, and cut off all chakra flow to it," Hinata explained, exhaling slowly. "Thus destroying any possibility of healing the damage... I did so with each ninja I took down here. Of course, they aren't conscious to complain."

"Th-This can't... can't be..." the leader growled out, trying to rise but failing miserably. "Our intel... Our intel said... you were the weakest member of your team!"

"I _am_ the weakest member," Hinata confirmed, a small smile on her face. "That's a scary thought, isn't it? Well, I'm sorry, Oto-san... I haven't yet become so jaded that I can take the life of a defenseless enemy. So... I have to leave you here..."

"W-Wait...!" the leader grunted out, but Hinata had already jumped off.

–

"Well then, shall we begin?" Orochimaru asked as he sank the kunai into the back of the two Hokage's heads. "But before that, I really must have the both of you return to your true forms."

Steam started rising from the two walking corpses, and all signs of deterioration started vanishing. Within moments, both looked completely alive, as though they had never been dead.

"They look as they did even more so now..." the Sandaime muttered, and Naruto glanced at him, to see him...?

"Hey, Jiji, you're not hesitating, are you?"

"I am mortified, I admit, but I am fully prepared to do what needs to be done, Naruto-kun," the Sandaime said, tensing up. "You still have a chance to go help Sasuke-kun, but I doubt you will."

"I'm with you, Jiji."

The Sandaime grunted, then said, "Shodai-sama is a Mokuton user, as you know, and Nidaime-sama is as one with Suiton jutsu. These are the men you inherited your skill from, so you should somewhat know what you are up against. That's why you should know to stay on your guard."

"Just the title 'Hokage' was enough to put me on guard, Jiji," Naruto said with a shaky grin. The Sandaime chuckled, then clapped his hands together.

"I am attacking!" he announced, then flashed through a chain of handseals. "Katon: Karyuu Endan (Fire Element: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)!"

The Sandaime blew a stream of fire at the two Hokage that was so hot that even Naruto, standing next to him, flinched slightly.

"Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Element: Water Encampment Wall)!" came a cry from within the flames, and steam rose when the fire impacted with a wall of water that suddenly shot up around the two Hokage and Orochimaru.

Once the fire died down, the water wall collapsed, but the Nidaime was quick to form a handseal (_One_!) and call, "Suiton: Suiryuudan (Water Element: Water Dragon Bullet)!"

"Naruto!" the Sandaime called.

"Way ahead of you!" Naruto said, flashing through seals. "Suiton: Suijinheki!"

Naruto spat up a large amount of water, which rose to form a shield around him and the old Hokage. The water dragon that was roaring toward them smashed into the shield, at which point Naruto switched handseal to a Ram seal and tensed up.

The water in the wall started moving clockwise, like a raging river surrounding the two, and the water dragon merged with the shield bit by bit, until the shield had doubled in size, and there was nothing left of the dragon.

Naruto sighed in relief.

"If that had been anyone but a Senju, someone whose chakra is compatible to mine, that would never have worked..."

"Well, Naruto-kun, now you know what you have to live up to," the Sandaime said with a small smirk on his face as the Shodai clapped his hands together in a Snake seal. "Look out!"

"I know!" Naruto exclaimed as both of them leapt into the air, the Sandaime forming a chain of seals, before coughing up a large wad of what appeared to be dirt, which shot up into the air to form a stone wall.

"Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Koutan (Wood Element Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees)!"

The tiles below them cracked as plants sprouted from the roof, growing into trees at an alarming rate, even piercing through the stone wall the Sandaime had landed on with ease.

"Jiji!" the still airborne Naruto yelled as a branch started wrapping around the old man, pulling him off the wall and down to the roof, another one heading for the blond. Naruto flashed through handseals again, then his cheeks puffed out, and he spat out another high-pressured jet of water like in the Forest of Death, which sliced through the branch, and the branch holding the Sandaime.

As he fell, Naruto formed another chain of seals, slamming his hand down into the roof as he landed.

"Mokuton: Shinrin Yousai no Jutsu (Wood Element: Forest Fortress Technique)!" he called.

Wood, about five feet thick, shot out of the roof, forming a large building around the Sandaime and himself. The Sandaime grunted as he kicked the severed branch away from him, then clutched at a scratch on his shoulder.

"As I expected, it's troublesome to deal with both of them at once," he commented, as though this was a simple spar, and things were only a tiny bit too hard for him.

"This is insane..." Naruto muttered, leaning back against the wall and exhaling deeply. "I thought Orochimaru was strong... But these guys... Did you see him form a Suiryuudan with just a single handseal?"

The Sandaime let out a "Mm..." as he bit his thumb, then formed a series of handseals, before pressing his hand down against the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

There was an explosion of smoke, and when it cleared, a monkey stood before the Sandaime. Well, a man-like monkey, anyway. He was tall, insanely so, standing about as tall as Jiraiya, his body and tail covered in white fur, which protruded from his sleeves and pants. He had long hair that reached down his back, along with long sideburns and a goatee. He wore black shinobi clothing with mesh armor underneath, over which he wore a sleeveless kimono shirt with white fur trimmings, and markings reminiscent of tiger stripes on it, which was held closed by a red sash. He also wore a Konoha forehead protector.

"Sarutobi," the monkey said, looking the old man over. "It's been a long time since last you summoned me. What's the reason? And who's the Nidaime-looking brat?"

Naruto twitched at that, but he had heard many things about the Monkey King Enma, the Sandaime's summon, so he wasn't really keen on mouthing off against him, considering he'd heard that Enma's strength was near equal to Tsunade's.

"This is Senju Naruto. He's helping me fight Orochimaru, who has used Edo Tensei to summon Shodai-sama and Nidaime-sama."

"Orochimaru... So it's come to this, after all..." Enma muttered. "You're pathetic, you know that, Sarutobi? This is all because you wouldn't kill him when you had the chance that time!"

"That's what we're going to do from here on," Sarutobi said, unmoved by the insult.

"Hmph! You're a little too late!"

"Enma! Use the Kongounyoi (Adamantine Staff)!"

Despite the fact that Enma looked incredibly rebellious, there wasn't even so much as a second of hesitation before Enma exclaimed. "Gotcha! Henge!"

Enma disappeared in a puff of smoke, to be replaced by a long, very thick staff, which flew at Sarutobi, who caught it.

"Alright, let's go, Naruto-kun!"

"Y-Yeah," Naruto said, clapping his hands together, which caused the wooden house to sink back into the roof.

"I am going first, Naruto-kun. Target the airborne," Sarutobi muttered, to which Naruto nodded. Then, the old man charged.

–

**So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Remember to leave a review!**

**Peace,**

**ZnK**


	8. Chapter 8

**Eighth chapter is out! I was going to say something here, but I've completely forgotten what it was... Ah well, enjoy!**

–

As Sasuke jumped from tree to tree, he blinked suddenly when he noticed something. Looking down, he saw that his left hand was trembling slightly.

"What the hell...?" he muttered in confusion. 'I've been having a bad feeling for a while now, but for it to have physical symptoms... Naruto...'

Sasuke stopped on a branch and looked over his shoulder, back toward Konoha. This was annoying. He had given Hinata those words of comfort, but in all honesty, he was worried about Naruto. After all, an enemy that felt they were strong enough to take on the Hokage had to be some enemy...

'Tch, focus!' he berated himself as he jumped off again, continuing his pursuit. 'Just like Naruto, I have a job to do. Although...'

It was Sasuke who had given Naruto the order to help the Hokage... If anything happened to Naruto...

He gave a burst of speed, blurring out of view when he saw his prey, to reappear in front of them, which caused the trio of Suna ninja to freeze in their tracks.

"Shit..." Temari muttered, still badly burned from her fight with Sasuke.

"This is as far as you go," Sasuke said coldly. "I'd really prefer it if you just gave up. I have a friend to check on, after all. But, if you'd rather this got bloody..."

A smirk spread on Sasuke's face as he reached back, grabbing the hilt of his sword.

"Temari," Kankuro said as he took off the bundle on his back and set it down, "take Gaara and go ahead!"

"Yeah..." Temari said and made to jump off, only for a kunai to impact with the branch they had landed on, right in front of Temari's feet.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear," Sasuke said, having used his free hand to throw the kunai. "This is as far as any of you are going to go, not just the crossdressing cat-boy."

Kankuro twitched in anger and glared at Sasuke.

"Why, you little shit...!"

Temari, regardless of the warning, leapt off, which made Sasuke grunt and prepare a jutsu, only to have to dodge a kunai thrown in his direction by Kankuro.

"Tch... You made me into a liar..." Sasuke muttered, glaring at Kankuro. "Guess I'll have to teach you a lesson."

"No," came a monotone voice that Sasuke easily recognized, and he looked to his left to see none other than Shino standing on another branch. "I'll be his opponent."

"Shino," Sasuke muttered. "Why are you here?"

Shino raised his hand to point at him.

"Before you left the arena, I used some female bugs to spread their scent on you. The scent of the female is nearly non-existent. Only the males of the same species can trace the faint scent of such females... although the males themselves have a stronger scent. Uchiha Sasuke, you chase after Gaara. Why? Your match with him has yet to be decided. I'll fight this one."

"You're rather confident," Sasuke commented. "You think you can do it?"

"Don't worry," Shino said. "I'll keep him off your back for ten minutes."

"Thanks, Shino," Sasuke said, turning around and pursuing Temari.

When he finally caught up to them, he found Gaara standing, having stopped the retreat. He had apparently also sent Temari flying into a tree, judging by how she was slumped against it, half-conscious.

"Yo," Sasuke said with a smirk. "You took off before our match was decided. Could it be that you're afraid of me just because I poked a little hole in your body?"

Gaara grunted and hunched over, clutching at his head, a bit of droll running down his chin. When he looked up again, it looked as though the right half of his face was starting to crack.

"You, who are strong... You, who have companions... You, who has an ambition... You, who are like me..." he muttered, a crazed grin appearing on his face once again. "Once I kill you... I will be the one to have destroyed all of that... Only then can I survive... Only then can I feel _alive_!"

Sasuke opened his mouth to remark upon Gaara's lack of sanity, when the redhead dropped to his knees, clutching at his head once more. The Uchiha watched in shock as Gaara's right arm, along with the right half of his face, transformed into some kind of sand demon thingy-or-something.

'Sand demon thingy-or-something?' Sasuke repeated, contemplating on how that description could possibly have entered his head. 'Shit, I've been hanging around Naruto for too long...'

Sasuke activated his Sharingan, staring at Gaara intently.

'This chakra... It kinda reminds me of that chakra that keeps bleeding into Naruto's system... Does that mean he's a demon container? But Naruto never goes half-freak like this... The seal holding this demon probably isn't as sophisticated...'

Gaara suddenly flung himself at Sasuke, whose eyes widened as he drew his chokuto, ducked under a swing, and slashed, intending to slice off the demonic right arm that had been aiming to take his head off.

'Crap!' Sasuke thought as the blade dug into the arm, but it was like slicing through stone. No, Sasuke could slice through stone without a problem. This was different. The sand arm was so dense that Sasuke couldn't cut through it. It was like the sand was constantly pressing together, even closing the cut around Sasuke's sword.

This, coupled with the fact that Gaara's swing packed a massive amount of power, left Sasuke with two choices: either hold on to the sword and be flung away, or let go of it.

Letting go, Sasuke leapt away just as the arm smashed into the branch Sasuke had been standing on, hitting it with so much force that the pressure kept going, blasting away the trees in front of it and kicking up a massive amount of dust.

'That's some monstrous strength...' Sasuke thought as he hid behind a tree. 'I think it may even be greater than Naruto's... One hit with that and I'm history...'

"ARE YOU AFRAID OF ME, UCHIHA SASUKE?!" Gaara roared, sounding gleeful. "AFRAID OF MY EXISTENCE?! WHAT'S THE MATTER?! ARE YOU AFRAID OF ME?! HAS YOUR FEAR OVERTAKEN THE HATRED, THE KILLING URGE?! IS YOUR REASON FOR EXISTENCE AS PUNY AS THAT?! IF YOU CRAVE AN ANSWER... COME AND GET ME!"

The chirping of a large amount of birds approaching at an insane speed was Gaara's only warning, before a hand encased in lightning burst out of the sand covering the right side of his chest, making him cry out in what could only be described as unbearable agony.

"You're too loud," Sasuke said from behind him as he slowly pulled his hand back, until it was inside Gaara's body. "I'll have my sword back now."

With that, Sasuke spun and slashed to the right, slicing his hand through Gaara's arm, splitting it in two and knocking loose the sword that was still lodged in his arm. Sasuke kept spinning, his left hand lashing out and catching the sword, flipping it in his hand. Then, he completed the spin by using the momentum to give his stab extra speed as he impaled Gaara through the left side of his chest with the sword.

Gaara screamed again, but surprisingly, the scream turned into maniacal laughter, which was the only warning Sasuke got, before the split arm swung back and impacted with his cheek, sending him flying and causing the sword to yank out of Gaara's body.

"I see..." Gaara growled out with a dark chuckle as Sasuke flipped in the air and landed on another branch. "So that's what it was... the reason why I'm so excited... I JUST GOT THE ANSWER! It's this pain... DEFEATING A MAN STRONG ENOUGH TO HURT ME AND UTTERLY DESTROYING HIM, THAT'S WHAT GIVES ME AN EVEN GREATER SENSE OF EXISTENCE!"

"Bit of a psycho, aren't you?" Sasuke asked as he rubbed his aching cheek.

"MORE!" Gaara screamed with a maniacal laugh. "I WANT MORE!"

Sasuke watched as more of Gaara's body transformed, a tail of sand sprouting from his tailbone.

"HERE I COME!" Gaara roared as he shot toward Sasuke again, making his eyes widen.

'He's faster than before!' Sasuke thought, dodging at the last second as Gaara tore through the branch he had been standing on.

As he flew through the air, claws in his right arm shot outward and wrapped around tree branches, stretching like as they slowed the airborne Gaara down, and then they flung him back toward Sasuke, who flashed through handseals.

"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!" he called, blowing a white-hot stream of fire at Gaara.

Gaara, however, was unaffected by the fire, flying straight through it at Sasuke, who only managed to raise his arms in a block before he reached him.

The blow impacting with his forearms sent Sasuke flying, grunting in pain. That blow hurt.

'I think I got a crack in my forearm from that blow...' Sasuke thought, gritting his teeth. His back impacted with a tree incredibly hard, making him grunt again.

"Ow..." Sasuke muttered. 'Maybe it would have been better if Naruto fought this freak, while I protected the Hokage?'

–

For being two dead guys, the two deceased brothers were incredibly nimble, dodging the swings from Sarutobi's staff with ease. Naruto stood back, watching the old man fight. He wanted to join in, he wanted to help, but he had never fought with Sarutobi before. They hadn't even sparred together. He'd probably just get in the way... And there he'd been talking about how he'd be better suited to fight with him...

These guys were on a whole other level...

Behind the fighting trio, Naruto could see Orochimaru tilting his head back and opening his mouth. A snake came out of it, opening its mouth as well and producing a long sword, which fell down and landed with the hilt in Orochimaru's hand.

He charged at Sarutobi when the old man's back was turned, not seeing the attack.

There was a clang as Orochimaru swung his sword, and to his surprise was blocked by a kunai, courtesy of Naruto who had blurred into view behind the Hokage.

Naruto's eyes widened, however, when the sword sliced straight through the kunai. His forearm came up and blocked the sword next, this time succeeding in doing so.

"You are quite inventive, Naruto-kun..." Orochimaru said with smirk. "Not only have you managed to duplicate the secret behind Tsunade-hime's monstrous strength, but you have also managed to figure out how to use chakra to reinforce your skin..."

"Thanks for the compliment..." Naruto muttered, a shaky grin on his face. "It actually hurts me to compliment a freak like you, but I have to say... it's an honor to fight ya."

"That must require a tremendous amount of concentration, though," Orochimaru said, still smirking. "I suppose I'm right in assuming that you cannot form that chakra armor on more than your arms in the heat of battle?"

Naruto gave off a "Tch!" at being found out so easily. Then again, Orochimaru wasn't considered a prodigy for nothing.

"Naruto-kun, be careful!" Sarutobi called, blocking strikes from the two Hokage.

"Like I wasn't already..." Naruto muttered, pushing the sword away, then taking a swing at Orochimaru, who dodged.

'Don't give him time to counter...' Naruto thought as he swung at Orochimaru again and again, pushing his speed to the limit. 'Don't let him take the offensive!'

'As expected,' Orochimaru thought, still smirking as he was forced to keep dodging the punches and kicks Naruto threw at him. 'His attacks are even more powerful than that time in the forest... If I try to block, he will surely break my arms. Naruto-kun... What a monstrous shinobi you turned out to be...'

Orochimaru deflected a punch and rolled along Naruto's arm, swinging his elbow into the back of Naruto's neck. Naruto grunted and stumbled forward, only to have his collar caught by Orochimaru.

The snake man pulled him back and caused him to spin around to face him, at which point Orochimaru drove his knee up into Naruto's gut. Naruto didn't even have time to process how much that knee hurt before he had to raise his arms to block a swing from the sword.

"Tch!" Naruto uttered as he leapt back, feeling the blade slicing into his arms. 'Didn't have time to put on the armor properly...'

"Don't slow down, Naruto-kun, or you'll die," Orochimaru said, charging at Naruto, who ducked a nanosecond before the blade of the sword sliced through the air where his head had just been. "Originally, my intention was was simply kill Sarutobi-sensei, but testing your skill like this is very amusing to me..."

"Not such a big test if you keep dodging," Naruto said, a small grin on his face. "You won't really be able to gauge how much my punches hurt if you don't let 'em hit you!"

"Cute," Orochimaru commented, getting on the offensive, coming at Naruto with fast slashes and kicks that were barely dodged.

'Shit! He's faster than me, no doubt about that. He's just toying with me right now. I can't hit him not matter how fast I attack... I need to get him to stand... still...' Naruto blinked when he came up with an idea. 'That's it!'

Naruto stopped rather suddenly, and grunted in pain as the sword stabbed him straight through the upper part of his chest.

"Naruto-kun!" Sarutobi yelled out in alarm, while Orochimaru adopted a suspicious look.

"You didn't dodge," he commented.

Naruto coughed up some blood, then grinned suddenly as his hand shot up and gripped Orochimaru's collar.

"Try to dodge this!" he exclaimed, then swung.

The punch impacted with Orochimaru with such force that it sent the snake flying through the air, the sword ripping out of Naruto's body. Orochimaru flew straight into the Shodai, but didn't stop, taking him with him as they flew into the Nidaime.

The three tumbled across the roof and landed in a heap.

"Gotcha..." Naruto muttered with a triumphant grin, clutching at the wound in his chest.

"Naruto-kun!" Sarutobi exclaimed, rushing over. "Why did you do that?"

"Needed him to stay still..." Naruto muttered. "I dodged enough to avoid him hitting any vital spots."

"That was quite the punch, Naruto-kun..." Orochimaru commented as he and the two Hokage got to their feet. Orochimaru's head was twisted one hundred and eighty degrees, and was hanging down his back, his neck snapped. His body jerked, and the head snapped up back into place, at which point they saw that the skin was hanging loose from his face, and his jaw had clearly been dislocated. Orochimaru reached up and grabbed his jaw, forcing it back in place.

"What the hell is he?" Naruto asked in shock, staring at Orochimaru with wide eyes.

"I will have to tell you that story later," Sarutobi said, putting his hand in a half-Ram seal.

Suddenly, an explosion went off on the Shodai's left leg, swiftly followed by one on the Nidaime's right.

When the smoke cleared, the two dead men could be seen standing on one leg. The Shodai had his left leg and left hand blown off, and the Nidaime had his right leg and right hand blown off.

"Explosive tags?" Naruto asked, nodding in approval. "Nice."

Their victory didn't last long, however, as the blown off limbs regenerated at an alarming speed.

"Just as I thought," Sarutobi muttered. "Something must be done about the souls that are trapped by the Edo Tensei, or it's no use, it would seem..."

"What's the matter, Sarutobi-sensei?" Orochimaru asked, sounding amused. "Your breath seems to be coming rather fast, you know..."

"There is only one jutsu that can end this," Sarutobi muttered to Naruto, clapping his hands together.

Orochimaru chuckled, however, and smirked widely at Sarutobi. "You've grown old, haven't you? I've never seen you strain so much." He chuckled again, which got him a glare from Sarutobi.

"What's so funny?"

"It's so pitiful, you know," Orochimaru said, reaching up to his own face. "Even you, the one who was hailed as the God of Shinobi, cannot defeat old age."

Orochimaru tore off the skin that was hanging off his face, to show another face underneath, that of a young woman, which made Naruto's eyes widen.

"Who the hell are you?" Sarutobi demanded.

"Is it that much of a shock that you can't figure it out?" the woman asked with a creepy chuckle. "It's me... I'm Orochimaru."

Sarutobi's eyes widened at that. "You... can't mean... You already finished _that_ Kinjutsu?"

"It's been more than ten years since I left the village... I suffered quite a bit."

"You terrifying, inhuman creature, you..." Sarutobi growled. "One of the reasons I didn't choose you to be the Yondaime was because of your twisted ideology..."

"I'm lost..." Naruto muttered, which made Orochimaru chuckle again.

"It's quite simple, Naruto-kun. This immortality jutsu is a technique where you anchor your soul to this world forever. In other words, it's a reincarnation technique where you find a new body, enter it with your soul, and gain possession of it," Orochimaru said, then looked to Sarutobi. "The reason why I disguised myself as my old self until now was... because I thought I'd let you feel nostalgic about the past... To grow old... How destitute it must be. When I look at you, I can feel it deeply. You will die here... and I will obtain an even younger, more beautiful, stronger body... Konoha really entertains me to no end..."

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at that. Then, they widened in realization.

"I see... Uchiha Sasuke, huh?"

"Yes, that's exactly it," Orochimaru said with a nod. "It's Sasuke-kun."

"What?!" Naruto barked, giving Orochimaru a glare. "Like I'd let you take him!"

"You have commendable spirit, Naruto-kun. I hope it lasts," Orochimaru said, smirking.

"A reincarnation jutsu that steals the body of another and makes the soul immortal, eh? What number face... body... is that one, hm?" Sarutobi wanted to know.

"I believe it's the second one," Orochimaru said. "I intend to possess Sasuke-kun after he grows up a bit more to my tastes." He gave a creepy chuckle with send all the wrong shivers down Naruto's spine. He reached up for his face, covering it with his hand. "But to have you die, cursing your fate and regretting your entire life... I suppose this face would be best."

When Orochimaru removed his hand, his old face was back, and Naruto was surprised to find himself thinking that he felt more comfortable this way.

"It seems I'll have to kill you now and correct my past mistake," Sarutobi said, forming a very familiar handseal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

"Hah, you really have grown old," Orochimaru said with a laugh. "To think you'd shorten your own lifespan out of impatience..."

"Naruto-kun," Sarutobi said, going through a chain of nine handseals, "please try your hardest to make sure my Kage Bunshin aren't dispelled."

"Why, Jiji?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"The order of the seals..." came Enma's voice from the staff that was laying forgotten on the ground. "There's not mistaking it. Sarutobi's going to use _that_ jutsu!"

"What jutsu?!" Naruto barked in frustration.

Sarutobi looked intrigued over his shoulder at something. Naruto had no idea what he was looking at. It was as though only the Sandaime could see it.

"It's already too late," Orochimaru said. "No matter what you do, I've won. Konoha is going to be demolished!"

"Konoha is my home!" Sarutobi proclaimed. "The Hokage is one who continues to act as the main pillar of the house, protecting it! He's the one who carries the Will of Fire, entrusted with it... It won't be easy for you!"

The Shodai went through a chain of handseals, and then Naruto noticed how everything around him got covered in blackness. He could see nothing but himself.

'Genjutsu?' he thought, putting his hands in a Ram seal. "Kai!"

Nothing happened. That surprised Naruto, as he had never encountered a Genjutsu before that he couldn't release from.

"What absurd nonsense," he heard Orochimaru's voice through the darkness. "You're just, for a short while, one of the leaders in the history of the organization called Konoha... Even the remains of the rock portrait will eventually fade and crumble."

"Hmph, to me, Konoha isn't just an organization," Sarutobi retorted. "Every year, there are a lot of shinobi born and raised in Konoha. They live and fight to protect the village, and to protect what's precious to them, they will go to their death. Even if we are not related by blood, the people of this village are, to me, my most precious... most important... family!"

In the past, Naruto had heard the Sandaime speak words like this, but never before had he been so moved by them. It was one thing to hear the old man speak of it in an office, and another to hear him speak those words in the middle of a battle, protecting the village and risking his life.

Naturally, Orochimaru had to spoil it by laughing at his proclamation.

"Well then, I'll break you in half, the main pillar, that is, and that'll destroy the house, Konoha."

Sarutobi scoffed. "Even if you were to kill me, the beam won't break! I am the man who inherited the Will of Fire, the will of the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage... I am the Sandaime Hokage! No matter how much you target Konoha, there will be a new Hokage who'll inherit my will, and become the pillar to protect the house of Konoha!"

"Jiji!" Naruto called through the darkness. "Where are you?"

"Stay back, Naruto-kun! Orochimaru, I'll show you a special jutsu that even you don't know about! Fuuin Jutsu: Shiki Fuujin (Sealing Technique: Dead Demon Consuming Seal)!"

"Shiki..." Naruto repeated in shock. "Jiji! What are you-"

"Naruto-kun, please try to locate Shodai-sama and Nidaime-sama," Sarutobi ordered, which made Naruto tense up as he did as he was told, molding chakra.

'Shiki Fuujin, that's the seal my old man used to seal the Kyuubi into my gut, isn't it?'

"A jutsu I am unfamiliar with?" came Orochimaru's voice through the darkness. "Please show it to me, this so-called jutsu..."

A sound reached Naruto's ear, the sound of a blade slicing through flesh, and blood spattering on the ground, followed by Sarutobi grunting in pain.

"Jiji!"

"Naruto-kun, just focus!"

"What's the matter?" Orochimaru asked. "Do you intend to let the former Hokage kill you bit by bit as they toy with you? Please, hurry up and present this jutsu to me..."

'Tch, this damn Genjutsu!' Naruto thought in frustration as he got to working on the task Sarutobi had assigned to him. 'The Shodai's chakra is all over the place. I can barely even sense the old man... But the Nidaime...!'

Naruto's eyes widened.

"Jiji! The clone to your left, three o'clock!" he called, then focused harder. "On your right, six o'clock!"

The sound of scurrying footsteps were heard, and then Sarutobi called, "Got you!"

Naruto waited for the longest few seconds of his life, then watched as the darkness bled away. He found the two clones of Sarutobi holding onto his predecessors. Something had happened to them, as their bodies started crumbling, and their personalities seemed to return.

"Sorry, Sarutobi..." the Shodai muttered.

"We've caused you a lot of trouble," the Nidaime said with a small grin.

"Please forgive me, Shodai-sama... Nidaime-sama..." the real Sarutobi requested, screwing his eyes shut. The two clones seemed to pull something out of the corpses, and Naruto noticed that their shirts had perfectly round holes in the chest.

"Fuuin!" the two clones exclaimed in unison, flinching in pain, and Naruto saw the seals appear on their chests, that seal that Naruto was so familiar with. Only their seals were different. This seal didn't have a four-element seal around it, but instead something else.

The dirt and dust that made up the Shodai and Nidaime crumbled, to reveal underneath two teenagers, two of the Oto-ninja that had taken part in the Chunnin Exam, to be exact, Zaku and Kin.

"You treat even the lives of your subordinates so lightly..." Sarutobi muttered. Naruto watched as tears started flowing down the old man's face.

"'The lives of your subordinates'?!" Orochimaru repeated with a glare. "How long do you intend to keep spouting such nonsense?!"

"Come, Enma!" Sarutobi called as his two clones puffed out of existence. The staff came soaring from the ground into his waiting hand, and Sarutobi charged.

With surprising speed, Sarutobi clashed with Orochimaru and managed to knock his sword out of his hands. Enma's arm suddenly grew from the staff, heading straight for Orochimaru, but the snake-freak lashed out with his hand, and a large amount of snakes shot out of his sleeve to wrap around it.

"Shit!" Enma exclaimed as he was dropped to the ground, cancelling his Henge as Sarutobi rushed forward and grabbed Orochimaru.

"This is the end!" Sarutobi exclaimed.

Orochimaru's eyes widened, and he gave off a grunt of pain. Something was happening that hurt him bad, and he twitched his finger.

The sword that was on the ground behind Sarutobi rose into the air, pointed at the old Hokage's back, then shot straight toward him.

"DIE!" both Sarutobi and Orochimaru yelled at the same time.

A squelching sound was heard as the sword pierced flesh. However, it hadn't hit Sarutobi.

Naruto had thrown himself between the Hokage and the sword, taking it to the chest and averting it.

"Gah!" Naruto exclaimed in pain. Throwing himself in front of it hadn't exactly allowed him to maneuver to avoid any vital spots. As such, he could feel that the sword had pierced him straight through his right lung.

"You brat...!" Orochimary grunted out.

"Let the old man do his thing, you snake freak..." Naruto muttered, a small grin on his face as he clutched at the sword, feeling his breath becoming labored. He could feel the blood pooling into his lung. "N-No interruptions..."

–

Sasuke, standing in front of Gaara with a determined look on his face, suddenly went wide-eyed as a shiver went down his spine.

'This feeling...' he thought in shock as he looked toward Konoha. 'Naruto?'

"DIE, UCHIHA SASUKE!"

Sasuke looked toward Gaara in surprise, having completely forgotten about the redhead, to see him just a couple of feet away from him, his demonic right hand reaching out to grab him.

"Sasuke-kun!"

A lavender blur came from Sasuke's right, slamming into Gaara and sending him veering off course.

"Hinata?" Sasuke uttered in surprise, seeing the Hyuuga girl standing in front of him, looking fot to fight for another few hours. "You took care of the tail, then?"

"Yes," Hinata said with a nod. "I'm sorry I'm late, Sasuke-kun, but I encountered Shino-kun on the way here. He had been poisoned, and I couldn't just leave him."

"Kankuro?" Sasuke asked in alarm.

"Shino-kun had already defeated his enemy. I treated Shino-kun as best I could, then hurried here."

"Good thing you did," Sasuke admitted. "I was a bit distracted."

"I noticed. That was sloppy of you, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke blinked at hearing that, giving Hinata an incredulous look.

"That was sloppy of me?" he asked, sounding impressed. "Wow, we _have_ been rubbing off on you."

In any other circumstance, he was sure Hinata would have giggled at that, but her Byakugan was solely focused on Gaara right now. The redhead was getting up, growling loudly, and still looking quite insane. He was transforming further. His left arm turned demonic as well, as did the rest of his face and upper body. Now, only his legs were still human.

Gaara spread out his arms, and Sasuke saw bulges appearing along them, taking pointed shapes. Then, he flung his arms forward, sending a large amount of what Sasuke recognized as shuriken made of sand at them.

"Hinata!" Sasuke exclaimed, redying his sword. His Sharingan helped him see each shuriken headed for him, and with three quick slashes, all of them were sliced in half, missing him completely, while Hinata nimbly dodged those heading for her.

"Hinata, stay out of this fight," Sasuke ordered, narrowing his eyes as he stared into Gaara's own.

"Sasuke-kun?" Hinata uttered in surprise.

"This is kind of personal for me," Sasuke said. "So please, stay on the sidelines. You've done more than your fair share today."

Hinata hesitated for a few moments, but then nodded and jumped off.

Now that they were alone, Sasuke closed his eyes, took a deep, steadying breath, then opened them to stare into Gaara's eyes once more.

'Those eyes,' he thought, gritting his teeth. 'They're so damn familiar! Once, I saw those eyes whenever I looked into a mirror, whenever I looked at Naruto... This guy knows loneliness... If I hadn't found Naruto... would that be me?'

Gaara drew in a deep breath, mouths opening up all over his body, all of them inhaling as well. Then, Gaara blew out a massive amount of air and sand. Sasuke smirked at that and flashed through handseals.

"Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!" he called, exhaling a massive stream of fire, which impacted with Gaara's attack, sucked in all the air and grew hotter, smashing straight into the redhead.

Unlike the last time he tried this, the Ryuuka succeeded this time in harming Gaara, who screamed in pain as he was thrown off the branch he was standing on, flying through the air and smashing into the forest floor.

Sasuke leapt down and landed some distance away from Gaara, taking in his appearance.

The sand armor covering Gaara had pretty much melted. He looked more like something hastily clumped together with wet sand than a demon now.

"You should stay down," Sasuke urged him. "The way you fight is all wrong. There's no way you can beat me."

"SHUT UP!" Gaara roared, raising his hand to attack.

"Too slow!" Sasuke exclaimed as he rushed forward, his sword catching on fire. He slashed three times as he ran past Gaara, and once more a scream was heard from the redhead as most of his sand arms and his tail were sliced off. "See? Give up now."

"No way..." Gaara uttered raspily. "There's... just no way... THERE'S NO WAY I CAN LOSE!"

With his Sharingan, Sasuke suddenly saw Gaara's chakra supply drastically increase, and he leapt away in time for a large amount of sand to encase Gaara, making him grow and grow.

Within only a few seconds, there stood a massive, demonic tanuki made of sand, with markings all over its body.

"Shit..." Sasuke muttered as he bit his thumb, then went through a few handseals, before pressing his hand against the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

There was an explosion of smoke, and when it cleared, Sasuke was standing on top of Nekomata, who was considerably smaller than the creature of sand.

"What is...? Sasuke, huh? What do you want?" Nekomata demanded, looking up at Sasuke, who just pointed at Gaara. "What? That's... Shukaku..."

"Shukaku?" Sasuke repeated.

"One of the nine Bijuu, the one-tailed spirit of the sand, Shukaku," Nekomata muttered, humming. "You want my help fighting him?"

"Yes."

"Hrhm... I can't grow quite that big, but I can grow somewhat bigger. Should help, I suppose," Nekomata said as he closed his eyes in concentration. Slowly, his body grew larger and larger, until his head was poking out over the treetops. Even then, he was only half as tall as the Shukaku. "This is as big as I can get, but it's more than enough for me. Hold on tight, Sasuke!"

Nekomata shot forward at an amazing speed, then leapt at Gaara, his claws growing to an insane size. He slashed, his claws digging into the sand monster's shoulder.

A grunt was heard from Nekomata as he flipped over Gaara and landed hard behind him, Gaara's arm flying off and crashing into the ground.

"Hoh, dense kid," Nekomata commented, a grin spreading on his face. "Haven't fought anyone like this in a long time... You're an interesting summoner, brat. But I'd prefer it if you didn't call me out for things like this in the future..."

"YOU'RE FUN!" came Gaara's voice from the monster. "THIS IS FUN, UCHIHA SASUKE!"

"Bit unstable, isn't it?" Nekomata commented, chuckling softly. "It's to be expected, holding the Shukaku..."

Gaara rose from the monster's forehead, until he was buried up to the waist.

"Thank you for keeping me entertained so far..." Gaara said as he put his hands in a Ram seal. "Now I'll show you the true power of the sand demon..."

"So, that's the medium, huh?" Nekomata said. "He shows signs of insomnia, from being possessed by Shukaku."

"Insomnia?" Sasuke asked, looking down at Nekomata, who scoffed.

"Do a bit of reading once in a while, brat! Those possessed by the tanuki demon Shukaku become such that they can't even have a single night of decent sleep, because of the terror. If they sleep, their personality is eaten away by Shukaku, bit by bit, until they disappear!" Nekomata explained, still grinning at the sight before him. "Because the medium suffers from a lack of sleep, their personality tends to be unstable. While the medium's awake, Shukaku's powers are suppressed. But should he fall asleep on his own, then..."

Nekomata didn't have time to finish, as at that point, Gaara called out, "Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu (Feigning Sleep Technique)!"

"Ah, crap..." Nekomata muttered, the grin vanishing from his face.

"HAHAHA!" the demon in front of them suddenly laughed in a decidedly shriller voice. "I'M FINALLY OUT!"

Shukaku looked around, then laid his eyes on Nekomata, whooping with glee.

"AND HERE'S SOMEONE I WANNA KILL!" He raised his arm as his stomach bulged. "FUUTON: RENKUUDAN (Wind Element: Drilling Air Bullet)!"

The Shukaku slammed his hand into his stomach and fired a massive ball of compressed air at Nekomata, who leapt into the air, avoiding the attack.

"Damn it, Sasuke!" he yelled as they flew through the air. "I didn't give you the contract so you could have me fight freaking demons! I thought you'd give me easy targets, like humans!"

"Quit complaining," Sasuke said, holding onto Nekomata's fur tightly. "How many can claim to have fought a Bijuu and survived?"

"Not many," Nekomata admitted as they landed, and he immediately had to dodge to the side to avoid another ball of air. "Because most are smart enough to avoid fighting them!"

Nekomata ducked under another ball, grunting in discomfort.

"Now I remember why I didn't want to give my contract to anyone... Sasuke! Wake up the medium and break the jutsu! Just smacking him once should do it! I'll get in close, but not for too long!"

"I'm ready," Sasuke announced, which made Nekomata grin as he dashed forward even faster than before, dodging left and right to avoid air balls fired at him. Once he came within distance, Nekomata jumped, digging his claws into Shukaku's shoulders and flipping over him. Sasuke leapt from Nekomata's head straight at Gaara, cocking his fist back and giving him his hardest punch.

"SHIIIT!" Shukaku cried as Sasuke landed on his nose. "I ONLY JUST CAME OUT, AND NOW-"

Shukaku stiffened, and his eyes went dead as Gaara's eyes opened to glare at Sasuke.

"I'm going to kill you..." Gaara growled out. "My existence will continue!"

Sasuke charged forward. He was slower than usual, as he felt his feet sinking into the sand demon with every step. Gaara wasn't fast enough to catch him, though, as Sasuke had reached him.

"Enough!" Sasuke yelled as he threw another punch, this one smashing straight into Gaara's face, right between his non-existent eyebrows.

Gaara's expression froze in shock, and suddenly the entire demon started cracking and crumbling. The two ninja fell through the air as the creature collapsed into sand.

Gaara slammed into the ground with an audible thump, while Sasuke landed on his feet, exhaling slowly. This whole fight had been very draining, he had to admit.

"Sasuke, I'm heading back. Don't call me to fight demons again!" Nekomata barked, before disappearing with an explosion of smoke.

Sasuke drew in a deep breath, then exhaled again, before looking to Gaara, who was staring at him with wide, panicked eyes.

"G-Get away from me!" Gaara exclaimed fearfully, which made Sasuke smirk.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you," Sasuke said, staring at Gaara with something akin to pity in his eyes. "I kind of empathize with you. I was like you once. The loneliness is a terrible thing. It changes you, it hurts you... you feel like you would do anything to have it end... Funny thing is... I could have been like you."

Sasuke smiled softly and looked up at the sky.

"But then... I met someone... He was like you and me... Just as alone... But he never gave up. He never gave in. I was about to let the darkness swallow me up. I was ready to live alone. But he was a proverbial light. He saved me from the hell of being alone. For that, I will do all in my power to protect him. You attacking Konoha, threatening it... His dream is my dream. His dream is to forever protect the village. So for his sake, I will destroy you if you so much as lift another finger against Konoha."

Sasuke's Sharingan disappeared, and he looked back down at the shocked Gaara.

"Naruto didn't just help me out of the darkness. He showed me the path to becoming as strong as I can be. He once told me that when a shinobi has something important to protect, that's when his true strength comes out. I have found this to be true. Whenever I fight, my sole focus is on protecting him and my team. It makes me fight harder, and helps me win."

In a blur, Temari and Kankuro landed between Gaara and Sasuke, ready to fight.

"You're a strong guy, Sabaku no Gaara," Sasuke said as he turned his back on the Suna Genin, walking off. "It'd be nice if you put that power to better use. I'll let you live today, but if you ever threaten Konoha again..." Sasuke looked at Gaara over his shoulder, his Sharingan blazing again. "...I'll kill you."

"You bastard...!" Temari hissed, reaching for her fan.

"That's... enough..." Gaara muttered, which made the two look back at him. "It's over..."

Kankuro hesitated for a moment, but then picked Gaara up, muttering "Alright," before jumping off with his sister.

–

Naruto coughed up blood as he lay on the roof, struggling to get up.

'This blade... is it poisoned?' he thought, gritting his teeth. 'I can barely move...'

"Jiji..." he uttered, looking to Sarutobi. Something was happening. Both Orochimaru and the Hokage seemed to be seeing something that Naruto couldn't see. Was it that Shinigami that Sarutobi had said would appear when using that jutsu? Could only the caster and the victim see it?

"Looks like... I don't have enough strength left to pull all of your soul out..." Sarutobi muttered.

"Could you please die already... Sarutobi-sensei?" Orochimaru grunted out, sweating from the pain he was going through.

"But... your ambitions end here!" Sarutobi proclaimed, ignoring his student.

"They end here?" Orochimaru repeated, glaring at Sarutobi. "You-"

Orochimaru stopped speaking suddenly, flinching in pain and looking down, a bit of panic entering his eyes.

"Good, it's begun the separation process..." Sarutobi said.

"My ambition will not end! You will die here!" Orochimaru roared.

"Your ambition won't affect the village any longer!" Sarutobi stated with a glare.

"Tch! You've grown old, Sandaime Hokage! Do you have the strength to rescue the village? Look around you... I've ordered my subordinates, the shinobi of Sunagakure and Otogakure, to come and infiltrate the village. Your Konoha shinobi will be annihilated, down to the women and children! Konoha will crumble!"

"You should know, Orochimaru... not to take the shinobi of this village lightly!" Sarutobi said confidently. "Konoha's shinobi are all protecting the village. They fight with all their might! True strength is not in mastery of Ninjutsu. I was never able to teach you... When they are protecting something important, that's when a shinobi's true strength appears!"

"A boring speech..." Orochimaru grunted out, which made Sarutobi smirk.

"This is good. I don't feel like letting you off now. For you, who is obsessed with jutsu, this is the appropriate punishment. To steal all of your jutsu!"

"What?!"

Naruto watched as Sarutobi gave a strain yell, evidently focusing hard on his task, and Orochimaru looked up in what was unmistakably fear.

"Can't be...! STOP IT!"

As though a rope between then had suddenly been cut, Sarutobi was pulled away from Orochimaru and cried "FUUIN!"

"J-Jiji!" Naruto choked out, watching as the seal appeared on Sarutobi's chest.

"You won't be able to use either arm..." Sarutobi mumbled weakly. "You won't be able to use them because both are completely sealed. You no longer have any jutsu..."

Orochimaru grunted in pain as his arms started to blacken. The fear in his eyes was slowly replaced by a considerable amount of rage.

"You were unsuccessful in destroying Konoha," Sarutobi said, sounding pleased.

"YOU OLD FART!" Orochimaru roared. "GIVE ME BACK MY ARMS!"

"You're foolish, Orochimaru," Sarutobi said, a small smile on his face. "They've both been completely destroyed... My apprentice, we'll meet again in another world..."

"Your light is blown out, old man!" Orochimaru yelled. "All this! _All this_! All my jutsu...!"

With a pleased smile on his face, Sarutobi's eyes drifted shut, and he fell backward, mumbling, "When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames... The fire's shadow will illuminate the village, and once again, tree leaves shall bud anew..."

"Jiji!" Naruto cried, tears welling up in his eyes for the first time in ages. "JIJI!"

"Naruto-kun..." Sarutobi whispered as he fell, still smiling. "I leave this to you..."

"You..." Orochimaru hissed as Sarutobi hit the ground. "YOU SHITTY OLD MAN! WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!"

"Sarutobi!" Enma exclaimed as the snakes around him loosened.

"Leave this to you?" Orochimaru growled as he walked up to Naruto, who glared up at him through teary eyes. "He'll leave this to you, eh? I'll show him..."

Orochimaru raised his foot, and then stomped down.

He was surprised, however, when his foot was caught by Enma, who had somewhat gotten free from the snakes.

"Touch the boy..." he growled out, glaring up at Orochimaru. "I dare you..."

"Tch!"

Orochimaru gritted his teeth. Then, with a final glare at both Naruto and Sarutobi, he jumped off.

"Jiji..." Naruto whispered, screwing his eyes shut. He couldn't bear to look at the old man anymore.

"To follow the path of the shinobi to the very end... was something that only Sarutobi could do..." Enma said, sounding proud of the old Hokage. "He entrusted his will to you, Naruto. I trust you'll take good care of it."

A poof was heard, and Naruto suspected that Enma had returned to wherever he came from.

There was another poof, after which Naruto felt that the blade in his chest was now gone.

Two taps were heard, wood against tile, and then a voice was heard.

"Naruto..."

"Jiraiya..." Naruto mumbled, keeping his eyes screwed shut. The seriousness of the situation could be heard by how Naruto didn't use an insulting nickname. "I... couldn't do anything..."

Jiraiya hushed him, and Naruto felt him turning the boy over to look at his wound.

"Quiet, you did more than anyone could ever have expected. Now, don't talk, or you'll make it worse."

More footsteps were heard, along with gasps from several people. The sounds became distorted, and Naruto fell unconscious.

–Chapter end–

It was two days after the battle. The enemy had been repelled, and Konoha was victorious. Many lives were lost, however, and much damage had been done to the village. Today, in the gloomy rain, the Konoha shinobi were gathered on top of the Hokage tower for the memorial service for the Hokage and all the other ninja who had fallen in battle.

All the shinobi wore loose, black clothing today, and naturally, there wasn't a smile to be seen for miles.

Hinata and Sasuke stood at the front of the group. Kakashi had been late, but only slightly, and was now standing behind them. Hinata looked around in concern.

"Um... Naruto-kun isn't here," she mumbled. "I thought he got out of the hospital yesterday? Is he late?"

"He was here before anyone," Sasuke commented, which got him a strange look from Hinata. In response, he pointed upward and to the right, toward the Hokage Monument.

Up there, on the Sandaime's head, a single figure could be seen sitting, staring down at the Hokage Tower.

"Why is he up there?" Hinata asked. "Shouldn't he be paying his respects?"

"He is. Don't you notice? He's on the Sandaime's head this time," Sasuke said, staring at the picture of the Sandaime, which was surrounded by flowers. "And he has a decent view of the memorial. I'm guessing he just needs to be alone..."

Meanwhile, up on the monument, Naruto was gazing down at the Hokage Tower with a deadened look in his eyes. He had been such a let-down during that fight! The power the three Hokage gave off had him so... crippled! He hadn't even fought with his full skill, he'd been so afraid. He put up a brave front, but that was it...

If he'd just managed to get over his fear... the old man might have lived still...

"**Weak..."**

Naruto's eyes widened upon hearing that, and he looked up at the top of the monument, seeing no one around.

'Must be my imagination,' he thought, shaking his head as he looked back down at the Hokage Tower. Slowly, his eyes drifted closed, and he gave a deep sigh. 'I really am weak, though...'

When Naruto opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in what could only be described as a dimly lit sewer.

"The hell...?" he muttered, only fo flinch as a loud roar pierced the silence. Furrowing his brow, and ignoring common sense (they weren't exactly friends), Naruto headed off in the direction the roar had come from, entering a doorway in the damp corridor, to find himself staring up at a massive gate, behind which two blazing orange eyes could be seen staring at him. The eyes themselves were huge, easily bigger than Naruto's whole body.

"**Kid..."** came a dark, guttural voice from within the cage. **"Come closer..."**

Naruto just raised an eyebrow at that, staring into the cage as if the occupant was insane. This made the creature within the cage chuckle.

"**You're not as stupid as you look,"** the voice rumbled, leaning closer the the bars. Naruto's eyes widened when out of the shadows came the head of a massive fox with long, rabbit-like ears. The eyes were something he easily recognized. He had seen flashes of them in his dreams.

"Kyuubi..."

"**I thought you might be too stupid to recognize me,"** the fox said, and Naruto noticed that he referred to himself with 'washi,' a word usually used by old men. **"I had been hoping, more like. Perhaps I would have been able to get you to come closer and let me eat you..."**

"So, this is you, the cause of all my troubles..." Naruto muttered, taking a few steps closer, but still keeping his distance from the demon. "It's kinda amazing. We've been together for almost fourteen years now, right?"

"**Hm?"**

"Because of a one in a million chance, you got sealed into my gut. You've been stuck here in the darkness for almost fourteen years, and I've had to endure the villagers' hatred for almost fourteen years, and yet... we've never met before. You probably know my name, but I don't even know yours, despite us being so connected."

"**You know my name, brat,"** the Kyuubi grumbled, glaring down at Naruto. **"Why don't you use it?"**

"I thought Kyuubi was the name people had just given you," Naruto admitted. "I thought, maybe, you had something else you'd like to be called."

"**That's not what I meant, brat!"** Kyuubi barked in annoyance. **"I mean, I introduced myself the second I was sealed in here!"**

Naruto twitched at that, then glared and pointed up at the fox.

"You can't blame me for not remembering that! Hell, of all things, your name would be the hardest to remember of that night, and yet I don't even remember my parents' dying words! Don't blame me because you were dumb enough to introduce yourself to a brat who was so young he'd be lucky enough to have even two sentient thoughts to piece together!"

"**You dare raise your voice at me, you little shit?!"** the fox roared. **"If these bars weren't in the way, I'd crush you like the insect you are!"**

"Now, now," Naruto said, waving him off, calming down in an instant. "Right, sorry, I shouldn't have yelled."

The Kyuubi flinched as if struck at hearing that.

"But, you know, you picked a bad time to call me down here. I'm kinda bummed right now." Naruto took a deep breath, then grinned at Kyuubi and flashed him a thumbs up. "Sorry, fox, but I forgot. Let's reintroduce ourselves, yeah? I'm Senju Naruto, inheritor of the Will of Fire! Nice to meet you!"

The fox glared down at Naruto for what felt like the longest time.

"**Kurama, brat... Don't forget it again."**

"Again, nice to meet you, Gurama!"

"**IT'S KURAMA!"** the fox roared as it slammed its head against the bars in a rage.

"Haha, sorry, a little joke," Naruto laughed, waving him off again. "Telling me not to forget it again was like an invitation, after all... You're too serious for your own good, you know that?"

Kurama growled at Naruto, who turned around and walked away, giving a chuckle.

"Well, I'll talk to you again soon. I'm in mourning right now, and I'd rather be alone."

"**Stop that, you brat..."** Kurama growled, which made Naruto stop and turn to look at him. **"Don't act all chipper... I'm inside you, remember? Don't expect me to buy that behavior when I just saw you sulk."**

"I wasn't sulking..." Naruto muttered. "Besides, I didn't know you could see that, and I didn't want to drag you down with me."

"**Didn't want...?"**

"You got a lot of rage in your eyes," Naruto explained, staring up at Kurama. "Usually, I would have probably dragged you down and made you feel guilty, since that's how I roll, but I figured you've got enough on your plate."

"**You're feeling responsible,"** Kurama commented, laying down in his cage and staring at Naruto curiously. **"You feel like you were too weak to do anything to help."**

"What's this now?"

"**You know, Naruto... If you were to remove this seal, and use my full power, you would never be too weak to do anything again."**

"I'm bummed, not stupid, Kurama," Naruto said with a snort. "I'm a trickster too, remember? I'm not so easily fooled."

Naruto smiled slightly at the fox.

"Well, I'll talk to you later when I've cheered up a bit."

"**If I wanted conversation, I'd find someone better than you to talk to..."**

"Probably, but it's not like you have a large amount of people to choose from."

Kurama grunted in agreement at that, and Naruto closed his eyes, focusing. When they snapped open again, he found himself sitting in the rain once more on top of the Hokage Monument.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto flashed through handseals, finishing in a Snake seal.

The Hokage Monument rumbled, drawing the attention of the people on the roof of the Hokage Tower.

Before their eyes, a massive tree grew out of the top of the monument, then another, and another, twisting together and forming a shape, merging with each other.

Within moments, the tree stopped growing, showing that it had taken the shape of the Sandaime Hokage, donning his Hokage robes with his trademark pipe hanging from his mouth, which was curved up in a wide smile. The tree-version of the Sandaime had its arms arms behind his back, a pose one had usually seen the Sandaime in.

"Tch," Sasuke uttered, a small smirk on his face as he looked up at the wooden Hokage. All around them, murmuring was heard as the other shinobi whispered to each other and pointed up at it. "That Naruto... Talk about paying his respects."

"I... I think that tree captures Hokage-sama's personality more than the stone face..." Hinata mumbled, smiling as well.

–

"You didn't have to buy me ramen to cheer me up..." Naruto muttered as he sat at Ichiraku Ramen with Hinata and Sasuke, both of whom were looking at him with concern. "I'm fine..."

"Don't go bullshitting me," Sasuke said, eating his ramen with considerably less fervor than Naruto. "Any idiot who's known you for more than a day can see that you're sulking. Don't you go feeling like you didn't contribute in that fight."

"But I didn't. I was so scared, I could barely do anything but offer some support..." Naruto muttered.

"Well, then you contributed. Don't beat yourself up about it," Sasuke said with a shrug. "But since Orochimaru bugged out as soon as the Hokage was dead, was that his only reason for coming here?"

"No. He's made some reincarnation jutsu that allows him to transfer his soul to another body," Naruto said. "He claimed that he'd found a new, younger, more beautiful body to possess." He glanced at Sasuke. "Yours."

"He... called me beautiful?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes in disgust. "Or was that just you sugarcoating it?"

"Nope, he said 'more beautiful.'"

Sasuke's nose scrunched up.

"Even if I were into older men, he's definitely _not_ my type..."

Naruto grunted in agreement, and got back to eating his ramen. Then, he froze and slowly turned toward Sasuke, giving him an incredulous look.

"Wait... 'older men'? Don't you mean men in general?"

"No, I'm pretty sure I meant what I said," Sasuke said, smirking at Naruto. "It's never struck you as odd that I have never once so much as glanced at a women, even though pretty much everyone is practically begging to be my girlfriend?"

Naruto flinched.

"You mean, you're...?"

"Does that bother you?"

Naruto shot out of his seat and pointed an accusatory finger at Sasuke.

"We've been in the hot springs together!"

"Naruto, I think of you as a brother," Sasuke said with a smile. "Don't worry, you're not my type."

"Hinata!" Naruto barked, pointing at their teammate. "Did you know?!"

Hinata flinched at being the center of attention, since even Sasuke was looking at her curiously.

"I... I didn't know..." she mumbled, gulping. "I suspected, though..."

Naruto's mouth opened and closed a few times. Then, he scratched his head in frustration.

"This is pretty big..." he muttered. "Why haven't you told me this before?"

"First of all, I haven't really been completely sure, and second of all, I thought I'd let you mature a bit before I told you. Otherwise, I'm sure you would have taken the first opportunity you found to tell a gay joke."

"Of course I would've!" Naruto cried. "It's the funniest when the jab is aimed at someone close to you!"

He was silent for a moment, contemplating something.

"Wait, does that mean that maybe I...?"

"Homosexuality isn't infectuous, Naruto, stop being homoph-"

Sasuke was interrupted when Naruto grabbed his collar and smashed their lips together in a kiss, making Sasuke's eyes widen as a furious blush appeared on his face. His blush was nothing compared to Hinata's, however. Her face was burning so hot, steam could almost see rising from it.

Naruto broke the kiss and leaned back, closing his eyes in thought.

"The hell are you doing?!" a blushing Sasuke barked, glaring at Naruto, who suddenly gave a triumphant grin.

"That did not feel right," he announced happily. "Sweet, I'm not gay."

With that, Naruto furiously wiped his mouth, spat three times on the ground, then sat back down again and went back to eating.

"Really, though, I'm happy that you've come to terms with it, and that you're comfortable with it."

Sasuke was still blushing from the forceful kiss, and looked back to his ramen feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Thanks..." he muttered with a huff. "I hope you have no problem with this, Hinata?"

Both ninja turned toward the female of the team when she didn't respond. Her face was still bright red, and she was staring at Sasuke and Naruto in complete and utter shock. Her mouth was moving slightly as though she was attempting to speak.

Then, she promptly fell back, passing out.

"Ah, Hinata!"

–

"Really, though," Sasuke said as he and Naruto walked through Konoha, having dropped Hinata off at the Hyuuga compound. When the alarmed Hyuuga guards asked what happened to the unconscious Hinata, an awkward Naruto had just responded with "Yaoi-overload."

"Really what?" Naruto asked, chewing on a dango stick. They had stopped by Sasuke's favorite dango place for a few sticks. "Any more shocking revelations?"

"No, I'm talking about you," Sasuke said. "You shouldn't blame yourself. Your opponents were the two first Hokage. Both of them have been labeled ninja gods by their enemies. It shouldn't be surprising that you couldn't do much to them. I've heard that the Shodai's chakra was so intense that he could create a sort of pressure that could shatter the ground beneath him. The fact that you were intimidated fighting both of them doesn't exactly label you as weak. I doubt I would have fared any better."

"It's not really working, Sasuke, but thanks for trying to cheer me up," Naruto muttered, rolling the dango stick from one corner of his mouth to the other. Then, he stopped and perked up. "Hey, have we created any Kage Bunshin lately?"

"No..." Sasuke muttered. "Why?"

"I'm sensing a chakra source nearby. Two of them, actually. One has a chakra supply about as great as my own, and the other's chakra supply is greater than yours, but feels almost exactly the same."

Sasuke's eyes widened at that.

"Almost exactly the same? What do you mean?"

"Well, you know how I've said that when you activate your Sharingan, your chakra feels darker?" Naruto asked, to which Sasuke nodded. "This chakra has that darkness in it. But I thought your clan was killed?"

Sasuke, still wide-eyed, came to a realization.

"Which means that there's only one person that chakra could belong to..."

Meanwhile, near the outskirts of the village, two shinobi were walking along a small river. Both were wearing black cloaks with red clouds printed on them, along with straw hats. The taller of the two had a sword on his back, a massive, thick sword wrapped in bandages.

The duo stopped suddenly, finding their path blocked by two Konoha Jounin, Sarutobi Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai.

"It's been a long time, Asuma-san, Kurenai-san," the shorter of the two said in a rather pleasant tone of voice.

"So, you're a shinobi from this village," Asuma said, puffing on his cigarette. "What did you come here for?"

The shorter of the duo lifted his straw hat slightly, revealing his eyes, both of which had a blazing Sharingan in them, which made Asuma and Kurenai go wide-eyed.

"No doubt about it..." Asuma muttered as the shinobi removed his straw hat and unbuttoned his cloak slightly, revealing a young face with black hair, lines under his eyes, and a Konoha forehead protector with a slash through it. "Uchiha Itachi..."

"So, you're already acquainted with Itachi-san, huh? Then, I also need to introduce myself," the taller of the duo said as he removed his own straw hat, to reveal a blue-skinned man with very sharp teeth, beady eyes, and what looked like gills on his cheekbones. "Hoshigaki Kisame. Nice to make your acquaintence."

"You're not making an acquaintences here," Asuma said with a small smirk on his face. "It looks like we've got the task to take you on."

"Itachi-san, your home village doesn't seem to like you very much," Kisame commented.

"I've also heard of you," Kurenai said, staring at Kisame. "Hoshigaki Kisame, formerly of Kirigakure no Sato... A renegade ninja wanted by numerous countries, including the Water Country, for assassinating a feudal lord, and sabotage, as well as various other crimes..."

"You boys are listed as S-rank criminals in the Bingo Book, you know," Asuma said, the smirk disappearing. "Itachi, coming back to this village after what you pulled..."

"Asuma-san, Kurenai-san, I have no wish to kill you," Itachi said. "Please do not interfere with my affairs."

"Can't really just walk away," Asuma said. "What is your purpose here?"

Suddenly, Kisame grabbed his sword and swung it down with enough force to crack the ground when it hit, kicking up a lot of dust.

"This person is quite annoying," the shark-man said, a grin on his face. "Shall I kill him?"

"It does look like we can't leave the village without a fight," Itachi said, not looking away from Asuma for a second. "But don't overdo it. Your style attracts too much attention."

"It's settled, then..." Kisame said as he lifted his sword again to rest it against his shoulder.

For a few moments, there was silence as everyone just stared at each other. Then, Kisame moved with incredible speed, swinging at Asuma, who drew a pair of trench knives and blocks the swing.

Asuma gritted his teeth as he struggled, the sword coming lower and lower.

'I'm being pushed down by just the tip of his sword... What kind of monster is he?'

Slowly, the sword was placed against Asuma's shoulder, which made Kisame grin. The shark-man pulled the sword back, making Asuma grunt in pain when he felt something tear against his shoulder, looking to see the bandages coming off the sword's tip, revealing not a blade, but a series of downward-facing scales running along the entirety of its length.

"My greatsword Samehada doesn't cut... it shaves!" Kisame announced with a grin.

Suddenly, Asuma grinned slightly, despite the pain.

"Kurenai, you're late."

Kisame's eyes widened as it appeared as though he suddenly started sinking into the ground, but Itachi looked quite unaffected, even as roots shot up from the ground and wrapped around him, a tree forming behind him. Above the Uchiha, Kurenai came out of the tree trunk, raising a kunai.

"This is the end," Kurenai announced, stabbing the kunai downward.

A blink was all it took, and Kurenai suddenly found that the tables had turned. All of a sudden she was the one wrapped up in roots, and before her stood Itachi, looking emotionless as usual.

"Genjutsu of this level have no effect on me."

'This is... Genjutsu counter!' Kurenai thought as Itachi drew a kunai. She closed her eyes and bit her own lip, drawing blood. The pain was enough to cancel the Genjutsu, and she opened her eyes in time to see Itachi coming at her. She ducked, the swipe from the kunai only managing to cut a few of her hairs, but that wasn't enough. A foot came flying at her at an intense speed, and she raised her arms to block. The kick was powerful, though, and sent her flying out over the river.

"Kurenai!" Asuma yelled, looking in her direction, which made Kisame chuckle as he raised his sword again.

"Not paying attention will be the end of you!"

The sword came swinging down just as Asuma turned to him, but he wouldn't have enough time to block.

The Samehada impacted with flesh, but it wasn't Asuma's. In front of the Jounin stood none other than Naruto, who had raised his arms in an X and blocked the strike. Asuma looked toward the airborne Kurenai, to see her get caught in the air by Sasuke, who set her down on the water.

"Sorry to steal the spotlight," Naruto said with a small grin on his face. "Smelled the Uchiha, and you know how Sasuke is. If he wants something, he'll go get it..."

"And who are you?" Kisame asked, grinning as well. "Powerful brat, to be able to block my Samehada like this..."

"It's considered polite to give your own name before asking another's..."

"Too true. Hoshigaki Kisame. Pleasure to make your acquaintence."

"Senju Naruto... The pleasure's mine," Naruto said, nodding in Kisame's direction.

Kisame's beady, bloodshot eyes widened at that.

"Senju Naruto, eh? The Kyuubi boy. Itachi-san, our search didn't take too long."

Itachi didn't respond, however. He had locked eyes with Sasuke, who was staring back with a remarkable calm.

"It's been a long time, Sasuke," Itachi spoke calmly.

"Uchiha Itachi..."

"Hm, Sharingan?" Kisame asked, looking away from Naruto to stare at Sasuke. "Who is this, Itachi-san?"

"My little brother."

"I thought you killed your entire clan?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth when Kisame mentioned that. His fists clenched, and a look of incredible rage appeared on his face.

"Sasuke!" Naruto barked. "Hit the freakin' break! Don't rush in just because you're a little angry!"

Naruto seemed to be able to snap Sasuke out of his anger, because he finally broke eye contact with Itachi to give his friend a glare.

"'A little angry'?! My hatred isn't just a small thing!"

"That is a subjective, philosophical point of view! And it would be better discussed elsewhere!"

"Heh, what an amusing pair..." Kisame said, grinning widely. "At least you have manners."

"Only when it counts," Naruto said, grinning as well.

"Kisame, bring the boy," Itachi ordered, walking up to the railing and climbing up on it, before jumping down onto the river.

"Understood."

Naruto's eyes widened when he suddenly felt pain in his arms, and he pushed the sword off him, jumping back out of reach.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Asuma asked, his eyes wide as Naruto landed next to him.

"Yeah, somehow," Naruto muttered, looking down at his forearms to see that the scales on the sword had sliced into them. "There's something freaky about that sword."

"You noticed, eh?" Kisame asked, sounding proud. "That's right. My Samehada eats chakra. That reinforcing technique you used to solidify your arms won't work against this sword."

"Naruto, grateful though I am that you blocked that attack... I'm a Jounin, and you're a Genin..." Asuma muttered, which made Naruto grin again.

"You'd feel kinda pathetic if a Genin had to fight in your stead?"

"Yeah..."

"Don't worry," Kisame spoke as he started going through handseals. "I'll target you both at once. Suiton: Suikoudan no Jutsu (Water Element: Water Shark Bullet Technique)!"

Naruto flashed through seals as well as the water in the river rose and shot toward Naruto and Asuma, taking the shape of a shark.

"Doton: Shikyuu Domu (Earth Element: Earth Dome)!" he exclaimed as he knelt, pressing his hand against the ground. Around him and Asuma, the earth rose up to form a rock-hard dome around them.

Naruto hummed as they heard the water shark crash against the dome.

"Well, he seems to be a Water type. If you want to take charge in this, I don't suppose you know any Earth techniques?"

Asuma closed his eyes and let out a "Hrhm..." as he puffed on his cigarette. "Very few. I'm mostly a Wind and Fire type."

"Then, shall I?"

"Yeah, I suppose you'll have to. Bring him down as best you can. I'll sneak attack whenever I can, and keep that sword away from you," Asuma said. "Even though you have a massive amount of chakra, it'd still be a waste to have it eat it all."

"Heh, thanks for the consideration," Naruto said with a small grin.

Suddenly, the dome was shattered, courtesy of Samehada, which smashed straight through the stone as though it was paper.

"Hide-and-seek is over," Kisame said, grinning. The grin didn't last, however, as Naruto had apparently not been as shocked as he had expected. Therefore, he didn't see it coming when Naruto flew out of the hole in the dome and nailed him with a right that sent him flying.

Naruto flinched when the hit connected, however, and as he landed on the ground, his hand came up to clutch at his chest.

"Damn it..."

Kisame landed in a heap a great distance away, so Naruto had time to grunt in pain.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Asuma asked, climbing out of the hole in the dome.

"It's strange, this wound hasn't been healing properly..." Naruto muttered, rubbing his chest. "There was some kind of poison on Orochimaru's Kusanagi. It seems even the healing factor provided by the Kyuubi is having trouble dealing with it. I couldn't put as much power in that punch as I had wanted..."

Meanwhile, Sasuke was caught in another staring match with Itachi.

"Uchiha Itachi... Sorry to tell you, I haven't lived how you wanted me to," Sasuke said. Unlike most times when he fought people, he wasn't smirking. He was looking dead serious. "Kurenai-sensei," he muttered to the Jounin behind him. "I'll fight this guy. Stay out of the way."

"Sasuke! You're just a Genin! I can't-"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder at Kurenai, his Sharingan blazing.

"From what I hear, you're a Genjutsu specialist, Kurenai-sensei. That's just about useless against these eyes. Besides..." he muttered and turned to look back at Itachi. "This river is going to spark soon. I wouldn't want you to be caught in it."

Kurenai's eyes widened in realization, and she jumped off immediately.

"Got you!" came Sasuke's cry from behind Itachi, who perked up and jumped away just as a lightning-covered hand passed through the air he had just occupied a nanosecond earlier. The Sasuke who had been standing by Kurenai disappeared in a puff of smoke, and the real Sasuke's Chidori punched into the water.

'Damn,' Itachi thought as he flew through the air, heading toward the electrified river. There was a puff of smoke, and when it cleared, a Kage Bunshin of Itachi was below him. He landed on the clone's shoulders and jumped off toward solid ground again, Sasuke deactivating his jutsu and following.

"I-" Sasuke started, but stopped when he heard a roar from Kisame on the other side of the river. He turned his head to see the shark-man leaping at Naruto, who seemed to be in pain, swinging his sword. "Naruto!"

Sasuke made to jump off, but there was suddenly an explosion of smoke, and when it cleared, an armor-clad toad had appeared between Kisame and Naruto, blocking the attack.

There was another explosion of smoke behind the toad. This time, the smoke revealed Jiraiya standing there, a massive grin on his face.

"Men shiver, ladies swoon! The great Jiraiya-sama has arrived!"

"Sorry, Sasuke," Itachi said, making Sasuke's eyes widen at the reminder of their past together. "Next time, perhaps..."

"You two! Did you think you could just waltz out of this village without problem?!" Jiraiya barked, pointing at Itachi. "Don't think about running now!"

"Kisame, let's go."

The duo took off, quickly followed by Asuma, Kurenai, and Jiraiya. Sasuke made to follow, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Wait," Naruto said, having closed the distance between them and stopped Sasuke from going after Itachi. "You'd get killed if you fought him now."

"What?" Sasuke hissed, turning to glare at him. "Don't underestimate me, Naruto!"

"You're still not past it," Naruto said calmly, not affected by Sasuke's anger. "Hell, you almost snapped at the mere mention of your clan. Not only that, but Itachi is incredibly skilled. The Jounin are following two Kage Bunshin, one using a Henge to look like Kisame."

"What?" Sasuke asked, his eyes widening. "When did he...?"

"No doubt at the same time as he made a clone to spring off of. I relaxed my senses to focus on the fight with Kisame, and when I put them up again, two of Itachi were running away, even though one of them looked like Kisame. The real ones are heading in the opposite direction. None of us can compete with speed like that as we are now..."

"But...!"

"Not to mention, he has that Mangekyo Sharingan!" Naruto barked. "It pains me to say this, but he's too strong! Relax. You'll get him next time..."

Naruto could feel how tense Sasuke was. Hell, Sasuke was even shivering. Then, the shivering slowly stopped, and he visibly relaxed.

"You're right... Next time."

"Besides, a fight with Itachi would bring attention," Naruto said as the two turned around and walked off. "And fighting him, you'd probably want as few people joining in as possible, to avoid collateral damage, right?"

"Hn..."

–

**So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Remember to leave a review!**

**Peace,**

**ZnK**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ninth chapter is out! I sincerely hope you all enjoy!**

–

"Aaaaah, I'm so bored!" Naruto exclaimed as he lay in the grass on Team Seven's training ground. Training was over for the day, and the whole team was just lounging for the moment.

Sasuke, sitting with his back against a tree, smiled as he stared at the frustrated Naruto.

'Well, at least he's back to his normal self, and the wound seems to have healed properly as well.'

"Hey, I sense your gaze on me," Naruto said, turning his head to glare at his friend. "Stop undressing me with your eyes!"

Sasuke actually laughed at that.

"Naruto, while you are definitely handsome, I've already told you you're not my type."

"Sasuke called me handsome..." Naruto muttered, shivering slightly. "This feels wrong on so many levels... Well, at least now I know why you're aligned with the Fire Element."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He knew an insult was incoming, and yet he couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're _flaming_!" Naruto said, sitting up and grinning at Sasuke, flashing him a thumbs up. "It fits, you ol' queer, you."

Sasuke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I'm going to have to endure a lot of this, aren't I?"

"Obviously, since you're not actually offended by it."

"But I am offended."

"Stop lying. I can tell when you lie."

"Eh?"

"Your skin gets this rainbow-glow when you lie."

"Okay..." Sasuke muttered, getting to his feet. "Naruto, I'm actually not offended when you say things like that, but..."

"But...?" Naruto urged, raising an eyebrow. Sasuke smirked and cracked his knuckles.

"But I'm still obligated to kick your ass in the name of homosexuality."

Silence...

"That sounds pretty gay, man."

Naruto yelped and jumped away as a Goukakyuu fired at lightning speed came hurtling toward him.

"Hinata!" Naruto barked as he ran past his giggling teammate. "Talk Sasuke down! You know, girl-to-girl!"

The next fireball was even larger than the others.

"You...!" Sasuke growled, then suddenly stopped, because Naruto had done so. The only reason Naruto would stop while being chased by a fire-spitting Sasuke would be if something serious had happened.

"Someone's coming," Naruto said, turning to the trees to their right. "Don't recognize 'em."

Within a few seconds, a kneeling ANBU, wearing a white coat with hood, and a mask that Naruto easily recognized.

"Ah, you're that Captain..."

"Naruto-san, Sasuke-san, your presence is requested at the Hokage Tower," the captain said, which made Naruto grin as he nudged Sasuke.

"Notice how he said my name first? Means I'm better."

"Just us?" Sasuke asked, ignoring Naruto. "Not Team Seven?"

"Neither Hyuuga Hinata nor Kakashi-senpai are being summoned. Only you two."

"Alright, thanks, Captain," Naruto said with a grin, flashing him a thumbs up.

The captain nodded, then blurred away again.

"He sounded respectful, just like the rest," Sasuke commented curiously.

It was true, the few ANBU Naruto and Sasuke had encountered seemed to treat Naruto with more respect than anyone these days. Must have been because he took the duty of trying to protect the Hokage as seriously as them.

So, ten minutes later found Naruto and Sasuke stepping into the Sandaime's old office. No one was sitting behind the desk, but three people were standing in the room.

Jiraiya stood to the side, leaning against the wall with a grin on his face, and the Sandaime's two advisors, those old people... What were their names again?

"Naruto, Sasuke, I'm sure you recognize Koharu and Homura," Jiraiya said, gesturing for the two advisors, who looked serious as always.

"Yeah," Naruto said, while Sasuke just nodded.

"Senju Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, do you know why we called you here today?" Homura asked, to which both Naruto and Sasuke shook their heads. "The Sandaime Hokage is dead. As such, a new Hokage needs to be chosen."

"Oh, well, I'm flattered, but I'm still a bit too young to-"

"Not you!" Homura barked at Naruto, who flinched at the volume of the old man's voice.

The person we have chosen is Tsunade of the Legenday Sannin," Koharu said.

"Eh?" Naruto uttered, furrowing his brow. "I thought she high-tailed it long ago?"

"That she did. That is why Jiraiya is going to find her and bring her back. You will accompany him on this mission."

"It's an official mission, then?" Sasuke asked, getting a nod from Koharu.

"Yes. This is a special A-rank mission," she said, frowning slightly. "While we would have preferred a detail of ANBU accompanying him, Jiraiya has specifically requested you two. Do you accept this mission?"

"The fact that you even have to ask shows that you don't know us at all," Sasuke commented, while Naruto grinned.

"Alright! Time to meet the grandmother I never knew!"

"Naruto!" Homura barked. "You are indoors! Lower your voice, and act like a proper shinobi."

"Hey, Homura-ossan, you're being louder than me," Naruto commented. Homura twitched, which Naruto saw as his cue to leave.

–

A loud grumble echoed through the dank sewer, and a single blazing orange eye opened within the darkness behind the bars to stare at Naruto.

"**You're back..."**

"You sound disappointed, Kurama," Naruto said with a small grin.

"**I have nothing to say to you. So, unless you want to pull this seal off and let me eat you, you might as well leave."**

"You're a pretty annoying guy- er, fox, aren't you?" Naruto quipped, raising an eyebrow, which got him a growl from Kurama. "What's put you in such a crappy mood?"

"**What's put me in such a crappy mood?"** Kurama repeated, his other eye opening as well as he rose from his prone position to approach the bars, glaring down at Naruto. **"I'll tell you what's put me in such a crappy mood, you little brat! Being sealed inside an annoying, hot-tempered little tart for years, then finally getting released, only to be put under mind control, and then sealed into an even younger, more annoying brat for near fourteen years!"**

Naruto blinked. Then, he frowned at the fox.

"Well, that sounds like a pretty solid reason, which sucks, 'cause now I can't chew you out for it..."

"**What do you want, you little snot?"** Kurama grumbled.

"Okay, first of all, I am kind enough to use your name, so you should use mine," Naruto said, giving Kurama a glare. "Second of all, I thought you might like some company before I headed out on my mission."

"**You're pretty stupid, Naruto. Where you go, I go,"** Kurama deadpanned, which made Naruto laugh.

"Well, you're not the first person to call me stupid, so that insult doesn't really affect me as much as you probably hoped."

"**Tch..."**

"Besides, I'm gonna be pretty busy searching for my grandmother, so I don't know if I'll have the time."

"**So, the warden figured he'd spend the precious last few hours of free time he had checking up on his prisoner,"** Kurama said, grinning down at Naruto. **"Well, I'm touched."**

"Aah, so that's what this is," Naruto commented, gesturing for the water he was standing in, which reached up to his knees. "I thought it was just a figure of speech, but I guess I'm actually literally wading in sarcasm here."

"**Why are you here, Naruto?"** Kurama asked, giving Naruto another glare. **"Just because we have managed to have a somewhat civilized conversation, that doesn't mean I want us to be friends. I don't want you to ride into the sunset on my head, singing songs of friendship."**

"Easy, boy," Naruto urged, raising his hands in a placating manner. "No need to get all hostile. I perfectly understand why you wouldn't want to befriend your living prison, but that doesn't mean we can't have a chat every once in a while. Like it or not, I'm all you've got. Which would you prefer, that or solitude?"

Kurama hummed loudly. **"That's a difficult question, Naruto... Could you give me a moment to think about it?"**

"Hey! That's a no-brainer!" Naruto yelled, pointing at Kurama with an accusatory finger. "I'm an awesome guy to be around, and you know it!"

A small grin appeared on Kurama's face as he muttered, **"**_**That**_** is a subjective, philosophical point of view."**

"You really are disagreeable..." Naruto muttered as he crossed his arms. "I bet you've never gotten a girlfriend with that attitude."

Kurama's head smashed against the bars with incredible force, enough to shake the room.

"**I'M A GIANT FOX, YOU BRAT! WHAT KIND OF GIRLFRIEND COULD I EVER GET?!"**

"Well, there _are_ some kinky girls out there..."

Kurama's eyes closed, and he lay down by the bars, only one eye opening again, and even that only halfway, as he gave Naruto an interested look.

"**You're pleasant as always, Naruto. Always know what to say to amuse people..."** he muttered, a small grin appearing on his face once more. **"That's one of the things I like about you."**

"Oho, so-"

"**_About_ you, I said. I never said I liked _you_. On the contrary, I damn near hate your guts."**

"That's cold..."

"**You, who is trying to connect with me or something, should be glad to hear that,"** Kurama quipped with a yawn. **"If anything, our mutual hatred for each other is the only thing that connects us."**

"Eeh..." Naruto uttered, scratching his head. "But I don't hate you, Kurama."

Kurama blinked at that and gave Naruto an incredulous look.

"I admit, there have been times when I've been really angry with you. I've cursed you and, you know, expressed my intense desire to have you die so I could piss on your corpse, but that's just been simple anger. I've never hated you. You're as much of a victim in this as I am, I think. That's why my anger has always passed."

"**You..."** Kurama muttered, raising his head to give Naruto an even more incredulous look. **"You really are an idiot, aren't you?"**

"What?"

"**You should hold on to your hatred, Naruto,"** Kurama said as he lay down again, resting his head against his front legs. **"It will make you strong. Just look at me. Kurama, strongest of the Bijuu. I am hatred incarnate."**

"I doubt that."

"**What was that?"**

"Well, the Hokage are Konoha's strongest," Naruto said, a small grin on his face. "And I doubt they gained their strength by holding onto hatred. I think you're just saying that either because you think my being hateful will let you break out easier, or because you're incredibly bitter about something from your past."

"**You shouldn't think too much, brat. It'll fry that tiny brain of yours."**

"I see we're not getting anywhere right now," Naruto said in amusement. "I'll come by and talk to you as soon as I get the time."

"**I wish you wouldn't."**

–

A crunching sound reverberated through Crater City, and Jiraiya was sent flying through the air, twin streams of blood shooting out of his nose, to impact hard with the ground. A woman's scream of fright was heard, followed by the angry yell of Senju Naruto.

"Hey, you old pervert! We're on a mission! There's no time to indulge your old man fantasies!"

"Such power..." Jiraiya muttered as he sat up, comical tears flowing down his face. "Feels like I'm traveling with Tsunade again... and Orochimaru, if you think about it..."

"Eh?" Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow at that, as Jiraiya got back to his feet.

"Well, when it comes to sexual preferences, anyway..."

Sasuke's head snapped toward Naruto.

"You told him?!"

"What? No!"

"Keh, foolish little brat!" Jiraiya exclaimed, striking a pose. "I am the great super pervert Jiraiya! I am equipped with not only a sexdar, but also a gaydar!"

Once again, Naruto's fist impacted with Jiraiya's face, knocking him to the ground once more.

"Stop insulting Sasuke, geezer!" he barked. "Comment on that shit again, see what happens!"

"Oi," Sasuke said, blinking. "You've told six gay jokes in less than two hours..."

"That's different! We're brothers, so I'm allowed. Anyone else insults you, I snap!"

"You brat!" Jiraiya yelled as he shot to his feet, smashing his forehead against Naruto's and glaring at him. "How dare you strike your beloved teacher just for a silly comment?!"

"Oh, it was easy! Insulting my best friend will give you a one-way ticket to the hospital, ero-master!"

"Why are you allowed to do so, but not me?!"

"I just said that! Are you losing your hearing in your old age?!"

"DAMN IT! IF YOU WEREN'T MINATO'S BOY...!"

"I'D STILL KICK YOUR ASS!"

This was the third time during this trip, which had only lasted two days, that Naruto and Jiraiya got into an argument like this. Surprisingly, Sasuke had stopped being affected by it, which was why he simply moved up to a nearby food stand.

"Hey, ossan, one takoyaki please."

"Yes, coming right up!"

"WHAT'S MY PENIS SIZE HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?! IT'S STILL AS IMPRESSIVE AS IT WAS TWENTY YEARS AGO!"

Sasuke took off his forehead protector and kept his gaze firmly fixed on the takoyaki vendor, to make sure he wasn't in the least bit associated with the two people arguing in the middle of the street.

Two hours later found Naruto wandering alone through the town, scratching the back of his head. The trio had split up. Apparently, loan sharks and gambling dens were the targets. They needed to find information on Tsunade's whereabouts. Apparently, rumor had it that Tsunade never strayed too far out of Fire Country, so there was a good chance that someone in the neighborhood had at least heard of her.

"Legendary Sucker..." Naruto muttered into the mouthpiece wrapped around his neck. "What kind of a name is that?"

"_If I had a choice between a nickname like that, and no nickname, I'd pick the second option,_" came Sasuke's voice in the radio. "_What kind of a woman is your grandmother, anyway? Jiraiya makes her sound terrible..._"

"I know, loaning money, gambling it all away, then running away from her debts? What kind of shit Hokage would she become?"

"_Funny how you're focusing on what kind of Hokage she'll be, rather than what kind of grandmother she will be to you._"

"She has probably never seen me, and even if she had, I have no memory of ever meeting her," Naruto explained, looking around. "I don't expect us to have a tearful reunion and become a loving family."

"_Hold up, I found a place that looks interesting,_" Sasuke said suddenly, and Naruto stopped, a small grin on his face.

"What a coincidence, so have I. Let me know if you find any information."

"_You too._"

Before Naruto was a house that looked completely ordinary. In fact, Naruto would have probably ignored it if it wasn't for the rugged-looking, scar-faced men who stood guard outside. Shrugging, Naruto approached them.

"Hold it right there, shinobi brat," one of the men guarding the door said as Naruto approached. "What's your business in this place?"

"Depends on what this place is and who's inside it, really," Naruto said. "I'm guessing this is the place one goes to if they have money to spend on gambling?"

The two men were suspiciously quiet at that.

"Ah, so it is. Well, I need to talk to whoever runs this place."

"That's funny, kid," one of the guards said, a grin on his face. "You think that you, clearly a ninja, can just waltz right in there and talk to the boss?"

"Oh, you're not as stupid as you look!" Naruto said, grinning as well. "Yes, that's exactly what I think. How did you know?"

"You brat...!" the guard growled, grabbing the hilt of the sword strapped to his waist.

"Stop," another guard said, a bit more composed than his friend. "Sorry, kid, you can't come in."

Naruto sighed at that. He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, contemplating how to go about this. Then, he gave the four guards a deadly serious look.

"You don't understand. I'm getting in there. The only thing you can decide is how many bruises you're going to get as I do so."

"That's it! I'm gonna kill you, you little-"

–

The door to the gambling den was blown off its hinges, courtesy of a fleshy projectile. As it smashed into the opposite wall, kicking up a lot of dust, the gamblers and gangsters inside all froze and looked up in shock. When the dust cleared, the projectile that had smashed in the door was revealed to be one of the men guarding the door outside. His face was swollen and bruised, and he looked like he was barely clinging to his consciousness.

"M-Monster..." he muttered through gritted teeth as Senju Naruto stepped through the doorway, a small grin on his face.

"Yo," he said, looking to a man sitting in the back of the room, obviously the boss. "I'm looking for information, but these chumps wouldn't let me in. Hope you don't mind."

Naruto walked through the group of gamblers and gangsters, not caring that he was stepping onto the tables used for their dice games as he walked straight up to the boss. The boss seemed to be doing his best to remain composed, simply sitting there with his arms crossed, but Naruto could see that his eyes were a bit widened, and perspiration was starting to break out on his face.

"Well, I'm sitting down right here," Naruto said as he sat down in front of the boss, still grinning.

"What do you want, boy?" the boss asked, glaring at Naruto, who reached into his kunai pouch and withdrew the photo Jiraiya had given him, showing an earlier ninja registration photo of Tsunade, a beautiful woman with straight, blond hair that came down in shoulder-length bangs that framed her face, and brown eyes. In the middle of her forehead was a violet rhombus mark.

"Has this woman stopped by here?"

The boss narrowed his eyes at the picture.

"Yeah, she was here a coupl'a weeks ago."

"Did you happen to overhear where she was heading?"

At that question, the boss gave a small grin. Despite clearly being intimidated by Naruto, he still said, "Now, boy, that's kind of expensive information. You may have punched through my door all rude-like, but I'm still not in the business of giving anything out for free."

"That so?" Naruto muttered, leaning back and rubbing his chin. Then he snapped his fingers with a grin. "Alright, how about we play for it?"

"Huh?"

"A million Ryou," Naruto said as he looked over his shoulder, gesturing for one of the dealers to come over. The dealer picked up his cup and pair of dice, no doubt guessing that was what Naruto wanted. Naruto took the cup and the dice, tossing the cubes into the cup before handing it over to the boss. "That's if you win. If I win, the info is free."

"What if I refuse?" the boss asked, which made Naruto grin wider.

"Well, you're free to refuse. You can even tell me to go to hell and not give me the info. But this is a rather old building. It can be brought down with ease."

"Well, you sure know how to get your way, boy, I'll give ya that," the boss said, swirling the dice in the cup. "Alright then. Call it."

The boss slammed the cup down on the tatami mat he was sitting on. Naruto raised his hand to his chin and thought about it.

'I put my chakra on a six and a two, which means the outcome should be one and five. That makes it even.

"Chou," Naruto announced, and the boss grinned, lifting the cup.

The boss' eyes widened, however, when he found the dice showing a one and a five.

"You may be using loaded dice, boss man, but ninja have tricks as well," Naruto said with a small grin. "So, you can either concede that my cheating was better than yours, and give me the info, or we can return to my original plan of, you know, smashing this place to bits and moving on."

"Eh, boy, if you ever get tired of boring shinobi work, you should consider coming to work for me," the boss said with a small smile. "Alright, I'll give ya the info. That unlucky nee-san lost all her money in this place. I overheard her telling the woman who was with her that they needed to go to Tanzaku Gai and win back their losses."

"Oh, thanks!" Naruto said, fishing out a wad of money and dropping it on the floor in front of the boss. "Here's for repairs for the door. I won't pay the medical bills of the four bozos out there, but I felt I should chip in somewhere, at least."

"Th-Thanks..."

Naruto gave the boss a wave, then walked off. As he stepped outside, he noticed that one of the idiot guards had regained consciousness, and had apparently made to enter the gambling den. The man froze, however, when he saw Naruto coming out. When Naruto turned his head to look at him, the guard flinched violently.

"Aren't you supposed to be unconscious?"

"Y-Yes..." the guard muttered with a gulp. "S-So sorry!"

With that, the guard made a dramatic show of throwing himself back down on the guard, feigning unconsciousness.

"Sasuke," Naruto spoke into his radio, "let's regroup and find the old pervert. I got some information on Tsunade."

"_Roger. That's good, because this place was a bust._"

–

"Uwaaaaah, Tanzaku Gai looks amazing!" Naruto said as he, Sasuke, and Jiraiya stood on a hill, looking over the town. "Very rustic, isn't it?"

"This is a pretty famous town, too," Jiraiya said with a grin. "Most famous for Tanzaku Castle, which has stood for generations, surviving not one, but two Great Ninja Wars."

"Eh, Tanzaku Castle?" Naruto asked, furrowing his brow as he looked around. "I don't see a castle..."

"What do you mean? It's right..." Jiraiya trailed off as he pointed at a spot in the town. There wasn't a castle there. Instead, there was just rubble. "...there... Huh..."

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Sasuke muttered and nudged Naruto. "Hey, focus."

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Naruto said and put his hand in a half-Ram seal, molding chakra. "Let's see here..."

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes widened.

"Two massive chakra signatures at two o'clock, and two smaller ones! One of them is Orochimaru!"

Jiraiya's eyes widened as well, and he gave the two Genin an alarmed look.

"Let's go, quick as you can!"

With that, they disappeared in a blur.

When they reached their destination, the found themselves landing in an empty street. One of the walls lining the streets had been completely smashed.

"Tch, lost 'em..." Naruto muttered.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"I mean, Orochimaru is a slippery piece of shit... He's managed to conceal his chakra from even me. As did another one of the chakra signatures, probably one of his subordinates."

"What of the other two signatures?" Jiraiya asked. "Can you track them?"

"Of course, what do you take me for?" Naruto muttered, feeling around. "This way."

He took off running, Jiraiya and Sasuke following closely.

Without a doubt, the chakra signature was Tsunade's. After all, the two remaining chakra signatures were the only ones he could sense right now, and unless Tsunade was just as capable of concealing her signature as Orochimaru, it had to be her.

The trio ran through the town, hopping from roof to roof as they followed Naruto's senses, until they landed outside a...

"A bar?" Jiraiya muttered, looking up at the sign above the door. "Undoubtedly, it can't be anyone but Tsunade."

As they stepped inside, they did so just in time to see a blond, big-breasted woman with brown eyes and a violet mark on her forehead stand up in a booth in the back of the bar, calling out, "Boss! More booze!"

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya yelled, making the woman go wide-eyed, along with the young, black-haired woman sitting next to her.

"Jiraiya?" Tsunade said in surprise. "Why are you at a place like this?"

"Aah, finally, we found you," Jiraiya muttered as he approached the booth with the two Genin.

"Eeh, is she really fifty?" Naruto mumbled to Sasuke, who smirked.

"Nice Genjutsu, I admit."

"Seems today is comprised of seeing old faces," Tsunade, a drunken blush on her face, muttered as Jiraiya, Naruto, and Sasuke sat down in the booth.

"Orochimaru, huh?" Jiraiya said seriously. "Did anything happen?"

Naruto, and probably Sasuke too, noticed how the black-haired woman next to Tsunade gave her an urging look, and received a very dangerous stare in return.

"Nothing much... Just a little greeting..." Tsunade said, directing her gaze to Jiraiya. "And you too, why did you come to see me?"

"Well, I suppose there were two reasons," Jiraiya said, a small grin on his face. "Konoha has issued a request for you to be the Godaime Hokage."

Tsunade and her friend went wide-eyed at that.

"The Sandaime is-"

"It was Orochimaru's work," Tsunade interrupted Jiraiya. "I heard, he told me. And the other reason?"

"Yeah, I'm getting to that, but first, I guess introductions are in order. Naruto, Sasuke, this is Tsunade, and her assistant Shizune. Tsunade, Shizune, this is Uchiha Sasuke," Jiraiya said, patting Sasuke on the shoulder. "And, of course, Senju Naruto."

Once more, Tsunade and Shizune went wide-eyed at hearing that. They were both staring at Naruto in shock. Then, Tsunade's eyes calmed again, and she looked at Jiraiya.

"Don't be an idiot, Jiraiya. I'm the last member of that clan. And even if I weren't, you expect me to believe this brat is a Senju?"

"The Sandaime gave Naruto that happuri and collar for a reason," Jiraiya said with a grin. "It wasn't until a couple of years ago, actually, when Naruto's Mokuton Kekkei Genkai surfaced, that we realized who he was. Turns out, that son of yours wasn't adopted by anyone outside Konoha."

Once more, Tsunade's eyes widened to the size of saucers, her mouth opening slightly in surprise as she looked from Jiraiya to Naruto, a look of realization dawning on her face.

"You don't mean to tell me that Minato...?"

"I know, ironic, isn't it?" Jiraiya said with a boisterous laugh. "Especially considering he called you a mother figure to him when we went to visit him and Kushina that time, remember?"

"Well then..." Tsunade muttered, staring down at the saucer of sake in her hand. "All the more reason for me to refuse."

"Eh?" Naruto uttered, his jaw dropping in surprise. "Refuse? How the hell can anyone save for the old pervert refuse such a position?!"

"Hey... That almost sounded like an insult..." Jiraiya grumbled, glancing at Naruto.

"That _was_ an insult, ero-master."

Jiraiya twitched, but nonetheless looked back to his former teammate. "Tsunade, you're the only one who can become the Godaime Hokage... You were the one who brought us many victories in the last Great Shinobi War. Not only that, but your healing techniques are unmatched. Not to mention that you're a Senju. You're the most appropriate person for the position."

"I still refuse. Even my own son seemed to have died quickly, giving his life for the village. Life is different from money... it can't be gambled away that easily. Whoever puts it at risk so readily is a fool..." She gave a humorless smile. "My grandfather and the Nidaime both focused too much on bringing peace to our home, more than anything else... but as a result, they just died in the middle of their dreams, like losers..."

"You've changed a lot, Tsunade..." Jiraiya muttered, warily glancing at Naruto, who was gritting his teeth in anger. "I don't know what you've been thinking all this time, but you've just said all that's on your mind..."

"Well, I'm already in my fifties... Age changes people... It's the same for Sarutobi-sensei... no wonder he died... He was too old to live in his dreams..."

'Ah, crap...' Sasuke thought, glancing at Naruto, whose fists were clenched, and Sasuke knew those fists were taking aim at Tsunade's skull. 'This woman is really pushing Naruto's buttons... All the _wrong_ buttons...'

"The title of Hokage is crap," Tsunade announced suddenly. "Only an idiot would want it."

'SHIT!' Jiraiya yelled in his mind, snapping his head toward Naruto at the same time as Sasuke, whose mind was screaming, 'Crap!'

Naruto flew out of his seat at the same time as Sasuke. Jiraiya wrapped his arm around Naruto's waist and tried to hold him back, while Sasuke leapt up, planting his feet onto the wall next to Tsunade's head, pressing his shoulder against Naruto's and using every muscle in his body to push him away.

"Calm down!" Sasuke ordered, but to no avail. "Naruto, calm the hell down!"

"Fuck that shit!" Naruto growled, struggling to reach Tsunade. "It doesn't matter who, doesn't even matter if they're related to me! Anyone who insults any of the Hokage... I can't forgive them! I'll snap her damn neck!"

Tsunade stared up at Naruto for a moment, staring into his eyes in what seemed like boredom. Then, a smile appeared on her face, and she stood up.

"You've got some guts to say that to my, boy! Let's take this outside!"

So, within moments, Naruto and Tsunade stood opposite each other out on the street. To the side stood Jiraiya, Sasuke, and Shizune.

"A Legendary Sannin taking on a snot-nosed Genin..." Tsunade muttered, sighing. "I oughta be ashamed of myself..."

"Keep talking, granny," Naruto said, a small grin appearing on his face as he cracked his knuckles. "It will just make your defeat all the more sweater."

Tsunade chuckled and held up her fist, extending her index finger.

"One finger should be enough..."

"Hey now, Tsunade," Jiraiya said seriously. "Don't underestimate my student. He fought alongside Sarutobi-sensei against Orochimaru and the first two Hokage, you know..."

Tsunade's head snapped toward Jiraiya, who showed no sign of joking.

"Sure, use one finger," Naruto said. "And watch it break."

He blurred out of view, and Tsunade's eyes widened.

'That's not a Genin's speed!' she thought in surprise, spinning around and leaning her head to the side to avoid an incoming punch. 'What power! The pressure from the punch would've knocked me off-balance if I wasn't on guard...'

Tsunade deflected another strike, and despite her promise to only use finger, she still raised her fist, and threw a punch in return. Naruto raised his hand... and caught the punch.

The punch hurt. His chakra strength was evidently nowhere near Tsunade's level, since the bones in his arm groaned, and his feet skidded back a foot across the ground. But he stood firm, at least. Tsunade's surprise lasted for only half a second, before her free hand wrapped around his wrist, and she swung him over her head and flung him through the air.

Naruto grunted as he flipped in the air, flashing through handseals.

"Mokuton: Maou no Shibari no Jutsu (Wood Element: Demon King's Restraints Technique)!" he exclaimed as he landed and slammed his palm into the ground, which started to rumble as several thick wooden poles shot out of the ground, carved with demonic faces. The poles wrapped around Tsunade, merging together to form something of a thick wooden net which was tightly wrapped around the woman.

"What the...?" Tsunade grunted, struggling against the bonds.

"Don't bother," Naruto said. "The Maou no Shibari is even stronger than the Mokusatsu Shibari (Smothering Binding). The Shodai used this to restrain the Ichibi."

A crack sounding as Tsunade strained against her bonds was the only warning Naruto got, before an explosion of splinters, followed by an explosion of stars flashed before his eyes, accompanied by an incredible pain erupting in his jaw.

It suddenly occurred to Naruto that his feet were no longer on the ground, and he opened his eyes in time to do a backflip in order to land on his feet.

"You're strong, to remain conscious after that punch, brat," Tsunade announced as Naruto shook his head to clear his vision, which had gone a bit fuzzy from that hit. "Hey, let me ask you something... Why do you get so excited hearing the word 'Hokage'?"

"Unlike you, the Senju blood burns hot in my veins," Naruto said with a glare. "Unlike you, I will be taking that title one day... Because being Hokage is my dream!"

Tsunade gasped at that, and Naruto saw his opening. He twitched toward Tsunade, but before he could do anything, Jiraiya had stepped between them.

"Okay! I'm calling it right here! It's late, I'm sure we're all tired. Tsunade, come have a drink with me, yeah? It's been a while, after all."

Tsunade glanced at Jiraiya, then nodded. The old pervert looked to Shizune.

"Hey, Shizune, you, Naruto, and Sasuke go find a hotel to stay in for the night. Okay?"

Shizune stared for a moment at Jiraiya, before bowing her head with a sigh.

"Okay..."

"Well," Sasuke spoke as he and Shizune walked up to Naruto, while Jiraiya and Tsunade walked off. "This evening has been eventful."

"Aaah, that was tiring..." Naruto muttered, leaning his head back and staring up at the sky. "She put a couple of cracks in my jaw with that punch..."

"Good thing you heal fast, eh?" Sasuke said, putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Well, let's go."

–

Jiraiya and Tsunade were sitting in a small liquor stand, drinking sake and eating snacks.

"You've become even more beautiful," the half-drunk Jiraiya said with a lecherous grin, glancing at Tsunade's sizeable bust.

"You haven't changed a bit," Tsunade said with a small smile. "You're the only person I wouldn't date."

"It's not like I'm interested..." Jiraiya said, then muttered, "After all, you're still a fifty-year old granny..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" Jiraiya said hurriedly, not wanting to be on the receiving end of one of her punches. Then, he grinned slightly. "Quite a surprising revelation tonight, eh?"

Tsunade huffed. "Why weren't I told?"

"It's not like we could find you. And even if we could, you'd made it quite clear you didn't want to come back to Konoha."

"And yet here you are today, revealing the existence of a grandson I didn't know I had, and also asking me to be Hokage."

"Mm, Naruto will make a fine Hokage one day, but he's not quite old enough to take the position," Jiraiya said. "I just thought it'd be better if he had someone more suited, someone blood-related, to take the post for him to learn from and look up to. Hell, imagine if someone like Danzo became Hokage..."

"That old warhawk's still alive?" Tsunade muttered.

"Were you expecting otherwise?"

"Can't say that I did..."

Jiraiya was quiet for a while, sipping his sake. Then, he set the saucer down and smiled slightly.

"Going to meet with Orochimaru, are you?"

The only sign of surprise Tsunade showed was a slight widening of her eyes.

"I could tell from Shizune's expression," Jiraiya explained. "I don't know what sort of deal he offered, but... don't make such a hasty decision... There's one thing I want to make clear..." He sipped his drink again. "The past four Hokage protected those who lived in Konoha. They reigned in troubled times, yet still allowed the village to have prosperity... That ideal... They bet their lives on that dream. You should understand their feelings. Therefore, if you ever do anything that betrays Konoha..." Jiraiya turned his head to look at Tsunade, a dangerous expression on his face that truly showed just how powerful he was, and why he was one of the Sannin. "...I'll kill you..."

Tsunade let out a "Tch!" as she glared at Jiraiya. "It has nothing to do with me..."

"Only a murderer would show no feelings knowing people close to them are dead. You're not like that, right? Especially now that you know you have a grandson who's alive and well. You do care about the safety for those that live in the village. Because that time-"

"Stop lecturing me already!" Tsunade yelled suddenly, gritting her teeth in anger. That anger was blown away quickly, however, and her eyes drooped sadly. "Why did you bring along those brats?"

"Aren't they alike, him and Nawaki?" Jiraiya asked with a small smile. "Well, maybe not so much anymore. Naruto sure has matured. With that happuri and collar, he kinda looks like the Nidaime, doesn't he? Like Naruto said, the Senju blood boils in him. He has inherited the Will of Fire from Sarutobi-sensei. I guess I was hoping he'd stir up some feelings in you."

"And the Uchiha brat?"

Jiraiya chuckled at that.

"Ah, no real reason. It's just that they're quite a team, from what I hear, Naruto and Sasuke. Like brothers. Alone, both of them are incredible fighters. But together, I hear they're a force to be reckoned with."

"He's got a dumb dream," Tsunade muttered, focusing the conversation on Naruto again, which made Jiraiya grin slightly. "Are you his master now?"

"Yeah, somewhat. He's technically Kakashi's student, but I supervise his training now and then."

"No wonder why he thinks he can aim so high..." Tsunade muttered. "You should bring him down from the clouds before he's killed."

"Now, now, don't be like that. Naruto's quite the prodigy. He's inherited only the best from all his relatives. He's got his dad's guts, his looks, his genius, and he's got his mother's fiery temper. Not only that, but he's got your grandfather's Mokuton jutsu, the Nidaime's sensor skills, the powerful chakra of the Senju, and he's even developed his own version of your monster strength, which you experienced first hand. Not only that, but he mastered the Kuchiyose in a day, and the Rasengan in little over a month. Would have been quicker, if he hadn't taken so long on the second step because of some emotional troubles."

"That's impossible," Tsunade said, downing the rest of the sake in her glass. "You make him sound like some kind of super ninja."

"In a way, he is. After all, he survived fighting Orochimaru and the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage at the same time. Granted, Sarutobi-sensei did most of the fighting from the way the boy tells it, but..." Jiraiya grinned even wider. "He's got a fierce will to protect, that kid. Even took Orochimaru's Kusanagi to the chest protecting the old man."

"Didn't work too well, though," Tsunade quipped. "Sarutobi-sensei still died."

"Right in front of Naruto," Jiraiya supplied. "So I'd watch what I say about the old man around Naruto if I were you."

"Tch..."

"By the way, I can't believe you still have that necklace," Jiraiya said, looking to the blueish-green stone hanging from her neck. "I would've thought you'd already lost it gambling."

Tsunade didn't say anything, just stared straight ahead.

"Third time's the charm, isn't that what they say?" Jiraiya said. "Maybe you should give it to your grandson, and watch him bring your faith back."

"You want me to give him this cursed thing?" Tsunade asked, pointing to the necklace. "Do you want him to die?"

"On the contrary, I want him to live," Jiraiya said as he stood up. "That kid will surprise you, mark my words."

With that, Jiraiya walked off, stumbling slightly.

–Chapter end–

"**Oh, for the love of... STOP COMING HERE!"**

Naruto looked up at the giant fox behind the bars.

"Stop being such a downer," Naruto said, walking over to one of the walls and sitting down. "I just wanted some company. We don't need to speak."

"**We don't need...?"** Kurama muttered, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Naruto. **"What's the catch?"**

"Don't talk as if a conversation with me is some sort of punishment that I'm letting you off from!"

Kurama grumbled, looking as though he wanted to argue that it actually was a punishment, but he seemed torn between that and enjoying peaceful silence for once. Finally, he decided on the latter, and lay down inside the cage, closing his eyes.

There was silence for a good ten minutes before Kurama finally opened an eye to glare at Naruto.

"**You're making me uncomfortable, just sitting there... It kills me to say it, but it's strange to not have you talking..."** he muttered. **"What the hell is wrong?"**

"Nothing, really," Naruto said. "I just don't enjoy the thought of being mad at my family."

"**Tsunade bothers you?"**

"Yeah... I've heard stories of Tsunade, you know. Greatest medic-nin in history, the most beautiful kunoichi in Konoha, perhaps even the world... To see her like this, a drunken, bitter has-been... That sucks, but what sucks even more is hearing her talk shit about the Hokage, and the very village she once swore to protect..."

"**You want my advise?"**

"Let me guess, kill her and forget about it?"

Kurama's eyes widened in surprise.

"**Oh, wow, you know me better than I thought."**

"It wasn't exactly hard to figure out..."

"**You should heed that advise nonetheless."**

"Thanks, but no thanks," Naruto said, rising to his feet. "I'd rather be upset about my grandmother than go on a murderous rampage."

"**Tch, you're no fun at all..."**

"You know, maybe if you weren't such an asshole, maybe people wouldn't hate you so much," Naruto commented, which got him a glare from Kurama.

"**What do I care what people think about me?!"** he barked angrily. **"Even if everyone worshipped the very ground I walked on, I still would be ashamed of myself if I wagged my tails to humans!"**

"Nobody said anything about wagging your tails," Naruto said. "Just asking you to tone down your dickish personality."

Naruto turned his back on Kurama and walked off.

"Just saying, it's not winning you any friends."

Naruto's surroundings went black, and when he blinked, he found himself sitting on the bed in his and Sasuke's hotel room.

"Still can't get along with the guy?" Sasuke asked, sitting on his own bed and watching Naruto, who shook his head.

"No, he's as disagreeable as ever," Naruto said with a sigh as he got up. "You know what sucks?"

"What?"

"I think I've properly mastered all the jutsu I know. I... don't really have any real training to do..."

"All of them?"

"Just about."

"Why don't you just continue your Fuuinjutsu studies?"

"You know, that would be a great idea, but that's studying. I'm talking about training. You know, pushing my body. Working up a sweat."

"I can help with that," Sasuke said, which made Naruto twitch.

"Damn it, don't make it gay, Sasuke!"

"Not remotely what I meant..." Sasuke muttered. "Stop acting like just because I'm gay, I'd jump into bed with every man I see!"

"But I don't know that you won't! Who knows, now that you've decided not to hide your big secret, you may have this hidden nymphomaniac side that no one knows about! Hence why I'm forever sleeping on my back from now on!"

Sasuke twitched. He didn't explode, however. Instead, he just quickly smirked and delivered a comeback.

"That just leaves your mouth open for business."

Naruto opened his mouth to retort, but suddenly realized what Sasuke had said, and quickly snapped it shut again. He wanted to speak, to chew Sasuke out, but he definitely didn't want to give Sasuke any openings... figuratively _and_ literally...

Sasuke's smirk widened, knowing that he had won this. Therefore, he decided to give up the playful banter, and focused on something more serious.

"So, what did you think about what the old lady said?"

"Huh?"

"About staying here for another week," Sasuke explained. "She didn't seem all that happy to see the pervert, and given her rabbity tendencies, I would've thought she'd skip town as soon as possible."

"Now that you mention it, you're right," Naruto muttered, rubbing his chin. "Does it have something to do with Orochimaru, you think?"

"Most likely. Can't be just coincidence. Jiraiya suspects something, too. I don't think it's _just_ to convince her to become Hokage that he's gone drinking with her three nights in a row."

Naruto opened his mouth.

"Neither is it just to ogle her massive breasts," Sasuke said, which caused Naruto's mouth to snap shut again. "Chances are, he knows something we only suspect."

"I don't think it's a coincidence that Orochimaru would come find Tsunade, the greatest medic-nin in history, only a short while after the Sandaime Hokage ruined his arms."

"How did he do that, by the way?" Sasuke wanted to know.

"Shiki Fuujin."

"Shiki...? Isn't that the seal... _he's_ sealed with?"

"Yeah. I don't know what was happening, but during the sealing, Orochimaru was looking rather panicked at something behind the old man. I couldn't see shit, and neither could Enma. But they could. The Sandaime tried to seal up all of Orochimaru, but didn't have the strength for it, so he just sealed his arms."

"But the Shiki Fuujin... isn't that used to seal souls?"

"Yup."

Sasuke's eyes widened in realization. "So, the arms of Orochimaru's very soul were sealed up?"

"Yeah. So it's no wonder why he'd feel he needs to ask Tsunade for help."

The days passed agonizingly slowly. Naruto and Sasuke spent their time training outside the town, but with no new jutsu to master, it was kind of boring, and they were only working on their existing ones to ensure their skills didn't rust.

More than once, Naruto had sensed Tsunade in the vicinity, watching him, at which point he focused solely on practicing his skills with Mokuton jutsu.

Finally, the last day that Tsunade had claimed to be staying in Tanzaku Gai arrived. Evidently, Jiraiya had made no progress whatsoever in convincing her to come back to Konoha, so Naruto, muttering angrily, rose from his meditative stance on the bed.

"Alright, that's it!" he said, huffing. "I'm gonna go convince her myself!"

"Ah-" Sasuke uttered quietly, raising his hand. It was a weak attempt at stopping Naruto, but to be honest, he was starting to run out of patience as well. But someone had to be there to at least _try_ to stop Naruto every once in a while when he tried to do something rash.

Naruto stomped out of the room and down the hall, to the door to Tsunade and Shizune's room.

"Hey, granny!" he barked, pounding on the door. "Open the hell up!"

There was no response. Well, Shizune had told him that Tsunade was a heavy sleeper, so...

With a crash, the door was kicked in, and Naruto stomped inside, huffing.

There was no Tsunade in there. However, Shizune was on the floor, not moving, which made Naruto's eyes widen.

"Sasuke!" he yelled out as he ran up to Shizune and knelt next to her, checking her pulse. In a blur, Sasuke arrived in the room, ready for battle.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked.

"No idea," Naruto muttered, slapping Shizune's cheek lightly. "Hey, Shizune, wake up!"

Shizune groaned and started stirring, her eyes slowly opening. Then, they snapped open to the size of saucers in alarm.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, staring at Naruto. "Naruto-kun, what day is today?"

"Eh? Monday, of course..." Naruto informed her. "Anyway, where's granny?"

This made Shizune go wide-eyed again.

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, stay in the house!" she ordered as she shot to her feet, heading for the balcony door and opening it. She made to step out, but a kunai suddenly came flying out of nowhere, embedding itself in the wall next to her head. Immediately, Naruto and Sasuke were out on the balcony, only to see Jiraiya standing leaning against the wall on the overhang, panting and sweating.

"Wait, Shizune..." Jiraiya muttered as the trio ran up to him, helping him over to the balcony so he could sit down and lean back against the railing. "Damn Tsunade... She put drugs in my sake... I can't mold chakra very well, and my whole body stings... I can't even hold chopsticks..."

"Oh, you lame old pervert!" Naruto barked, crossing his arms. "You always brag about being the 'great toad sage Jiraiya-sama,' and you go let yourself get drugged by a woman with big tits!"

"Shut up!" Jiraiya barked. "In her fallen state, she's still a medical specialist! She's about the only one who can create a tasteless, odorless drug to use against other ninja... But... even though I was drunk... to get me like that..."

"As Naruto said, you're a lame old pervert," Sasuke commented.

"Yeah! You-"

Naruto's eyes widened, and he spun around, flinging a kunai at a shape standing on another overhang connected to a building across the street. The shape in the shadows leapt away as the kunai flew through the space previously occupied by their head.

"That's the bastard who was with Orochimaru a week ago!" Naruto exclaimed. "Sasuke, we're going!"

"Yeah."

Naruto and Sasuke leapt off at an amazing speed, leaving Shizune and Jiraiya behind.

"Any idea who it is?" Sasuke asked as they hopped from rooftop to rooftop, following the blur ahead of them. His Sharingan activated as he stared at the back of the ninja they were following. "Does it feel familiar?"

"Yeah, somewhat. Like I felt it when my senses were lax, but still memorized it," Naruto muttered.

"I'm seeing purple clothing over a gray tee, cloth wrapped around the waist, and purple gloves... Silver hair, kunai pouch on the left side..."

"That's..." Naruto's brow furrowed as he thought hard on it. "Tch, I know that! Ah, that's Kabuto!"

"Kabuto?" Sasuke muttered. "That Konoha Genin?"

"Evidently not Konoha, and definitely not Genin."

"Yeah, no Genin is this fast..."

As Sasuke watched their target with his Sharingan, he saw the man look over his shoulder at them, his glasses glinting in the sunlight.

"Yeah, glasses," Sasuke said. "No doubt it's Kabuto."

"Eh, you recognized him by his glasses?"

"How many other ninja with big round glasses have we met while your senses have been on half-edge?"

"Um, well, there was that big fellow outside that yakiniku place..."

"But he was big, this guy isn't," Sasuke said. "So, do we take him down?"

"You're asking me?" Naruto asked in surprise. "Aren't you usually the one taking the position of leader?"

"You're my rival, Naruto. We both have the same dream. If we're gonna have an equal chance at it, you need practice as well," Sasuke said as they saw Kabuto take a right, at which point they turned sharply with the next jump as well.

Naruto's eyes closed, and he held up his hand in a half-Ram seal.

"Tsunade and Orochimaru are this way," he said, nodding in the direction they were headed. "Although it would be safest to take him down now, I think we should secure Tsunade first. If Orochimaru is expecting him, and he doesn't show up... It's an unknown we can't risk."

"Agreed," Sasuke said, nodding.

Suddenly, Kabuto picked up speed, which made Sasuke grunt.

"He can go even faster? What a troublesome guy..."

"We really should go faster as well, but we shouldn't tire ourselves out before we even get there," Naruto said. "It wouldn't do to have to catch our breath when we reach Tsunade, only to have to immediately get into a fight."

The dot in the distance that was Kabuto suddenly dropped behind a wall, a wall blocking off sight to the very street where Naruto had first sensed Orochimaru in the town.

"That where they are?" Sasuke asked, to which Naruto nodded.

There was a massive crash, the buildings shaking as a cloud of dust rose where Kabuto had just hopped down, making Naruto and Sasuke stop in their tracks, their eyes wide.

"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed, gaping. "That's some _power_!"

"Safe to say, their meeting did not go well," Sasuke said with a smirk. "Let's go, Naruto."

"Yeah."

There was another crash, and three black blurs shot out of the dust cloud. Naruto immediately recognized them as Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Kabuto by their chakra signatures.

–

Some distance away from the town, Tsunade stood, breathing heavily, in front of Orochimaru and Kabuto. Around her, the ground was cracked, and craters had been formed where she had brought down her fists and heels.

"Tsunade seems to be running out of breath..." Orochimaru said, smirking. "It might be good to use 'it' now."

Kabuto nodded and reached into his kunai pouch, taking out a small pill.

"Although I'm not that strong with Taijutsu..." he muttered as he put the pill on his tongue, then swallowed it.

'Soldier pill?' Tsunade thought as Kabuto flashed through handseals. He held up his hands, which started glowing with chakra. 'Chakra scalpels... So, this child also knows medic-nin jutsu...'

Dust flew into the air as Kabuto was seemingly sucked down into the ground. Then, no more than two seconds later, a hand burst out of the ground next to Tsunade's leg, grasping for it. Tsunade leapt into the air, and slammed her fist down at Kabuto, who shot out of the ground to the side, avoiding the blow, which shattered the ground. She didn't even pause, however, before she shot off toward Kabuto, who ducked in time to avoid a kick to the face which shattered a stone behind him.

Seeing his opening, Kabuto shot forward and touched Tsunade's upper arm and stomach, before getting shoulder-checked away by the Sannin.

Tsunade grunted in pain as she dropped to her knees.

"I've cut your biceps and abdominal muscles," he said with an incredibly arrogant smirk. "You won't be able to use your massive strength..."

"Chakra scalpel..." Tsunade muttered. "Why aren't you aiming at my arteries?"

"Certainly, with this chakra scalpel I could have severed all your muscles and arteries. However, during a fight, I can't maintain one long and precise enough to penetrate all the way."

"Probably why you don't have a girlfriend."

Kabuto's head snapped to the left at the new voice, just in time to receive a fist to the face, which sent him flying away, skidding along the ground seveal feet before coming to a stop. He looked up to see, now standing in front of Tsunade, Senju Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, both of them glaring at him.

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun," Kabuto said, staring coldly at them.

"I told you I had a bad feeling about him when we first met," Naruto said, nudging Sasuke. "Didn't I tell you?"

Sasuke sighed. "Yes, you told me."

"Damn right I did!"

Naruto's grin at his victory faded as he turned his head to look at Orochimaru, his gaze turning dangerous.

"And there's the slimy bastard..."

"I didn't think I'd see you again so soon, Naruto-kun," Orochimaru said with a chuckle, before his eyes moved over to Sasuke. "And you too... Sasuke-kun..."

Sasuke flinched.

"Ugh... Mental images..." he muttered as he palmed his face.

"Huh?" Naruto looked at Sasuke in confusion. Then, it clicked, and he palmed his face as well. "Oh, god, same here!"

Slowly, Sasuke moved his hand away from his face.

"Taking them both on at once, even with Orochimaru's handicap, might be a bit difficult. Let's use Kage Bunshin."

"Yeah..." Naruto muttered. "Pass on that."

"What?"

"Well, it's just that... Hm... When I make so few clones, there's a chance one of _them_ will come out..."

_They_, as Naruto referred to them as, were a couple of clones that were very different from the original. It seemed that some clones, occasionally, only got part of Naruto's personality. Sometimes, a clone could come out with a personality that was all depression, or all joy, or all anger. There was even one clone at one time that was an even bigger pervert than Jiraiya.

"Right..." Sasuke muttered. "Besides, I think we need to conserve chakra here."

"You're too fast, boys!" came a new voice, belonging to Jiraiya, as he landed behind them, between them and Tsunade. Following quickly was Shizune, along with her pig, Tonton. "Don't rush ahead like that!"

"You're too slow, ero-master," Naruto said, grinning over his shoulder at Jiraiya. "Your own damn fault for letting yourself get drugged!"

"Move!" Tsunade barked suddenly, pushing Jiraiya out of the way as she rushed at Kabuto, who had a dangerous glint in his eye. There was a flash of metal, and blood spattered on the ground.

Kabuto had slit his own wrist, which was bleeding heavily. The sight of the blood had frozen Tsunade in her place, and she started trembling violently.

"What?" Naruto uttered in surprise. "Hemophobia?"

Kabuto backhanded Tsunade, sending her flying back toward the group of Konoha ninja.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune exclaimed, rushing forward and catching the shivering woman.

"Kabuto," Orochimaru spoke suddenly. Kabuto immediately leapt over to Orochimaru's side, taking another pill out of his kunai pouch and putting it in his mouth.

"Blood-stopping pill," Sasuke commented.

"Good thing, too. Wouldn't want him to bleed to death from his own wound," Naruto said with a grin.

"You're bleeding a lot there," Orochimaru said, glancing at Kabuto, who smirked.

"Please take off the left bandage."

The bandages on Orochimaru's left arm fell off, and he smirked creepily at them.

"Naruto, Sasuke, you handle the guy in glasses," Jiraiya ordered. "I'll take care of Orochimaru. But first, I'd like Tsunade to do something about my body..."

"This effect will probably last for a few more hours," Shizune said. "As far as I know, there's no antidote, so I can't do anything about it..."

"No helping it, then..." Jiraiya muttered with a small smile on his face. "We have to do it like this..."

Kabuto swiped some blood from his wrist onto a tattoo on Orochimaru's arm, while Jiraiya bit his thumb and placed some blood on his palm.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" both Jiraiya and Kabuto called out after going through the necessary handseals, pressing their palms against the ground.

There were two explosions of smoke, and when it cleared, Orochimaru and Kabuto were seen having summoned two massive snakes, while Jiraiya had summoned...

...a tiny toad...

The toad, muttering a "'Sup?" with a smile, looked like a truly miniature version of Gamabunta.

"What the hell?!" Naruto barked. "What kind of summon was that?!"

"Shut up, you brat! I told you, Tsunade messed with my body (and not in a good way)! Let's see you do better!"

"Watch me, you old pervert!" Naruto said with a grin, raising his hand to bite his thumb.

"Don't let him summon!" Orochimaru ordered Kabuto as the two snakes lunged at the Konoha ninja, and Kabuto leapt onto the head of the other snake.

"Shit!" Sasuke exclaimed, leaping out of the way, along with Jiraiya and Shizune, who grabbed Tsunade and Tonton, as the snake crashed down on top of Naruto and the toad.

One of the snakes, upon which stood Orochimaru, charged off in pursuit of Jiraiya, as Sasuke landed next to Shizune and Tsunade.

"Tch..." he uttered. "Are you alright?"

Shizune opened her mouth to respond, to tell Sasuke to worry about Naruto instead, when said blond's voice reached her ears.

"Yeah, somehow..." it came from below as Naruto burst from the ground, landing next to Sasuke, holding the small toad in his arms. "As fortune would have it, I managed to burrow underground in time..."

"Phew!" the toad sighed in relief as he looked up at Naruto. "Thanks for that, bro! I thought I was dead meat for a second there!"

"Yeah, no problem," Naruto said, setting him down. "Senju Naruto, by the way."

"Gamakichi! Yeah, pops told me about you," the toad said with a grin, which looked really strange considering that he didn't have any teeth.

Naruto's head snapped toward Sasuke.

"Hey, there are two of them! You got that Ninneko contract, right? Make them useful!"

"The only one big enough to contend with these guys is Nekomata, and he's still a bit pissed that I made him fight Shukaku..." Sasuke muttered, which made Naruto scoff as he bit his thumb, then swiped the blood onto his palm.

"Shizune, take Tsunade out of here!" Naruto ordered, flashing through handseals. Shizune picked the Sannin up and leapt away just as Naruto slammed his hand down on the ground and called, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

There was another explosion of smoke. Unlike when Jiraiya performed the summoning, when the smoke cleared, it revealed that Naruto and Sasuke were standing on a very large toad, nearly the size of Gamabunta. The toad was magenta-colored with black markings on his face, arms, and legs, with horn-like protrusions on his head. He wore a black kimono with a white sash and mesh armor underneath. He also kept a massive sakazuki-like shield strapped to his back, and a sasumata in his hand.

"So sorry to summon you like this in the middle of a battle without having even introduced myself..." Naruto told the toad, whose eyes slowly turned to look at him.

"You are the new summoner, Senju Naruto-dono, no?" he asked in a deep, almost raspy voice. When Naruto nodded, the toad did so as well. "No introductions needed at the moment. Well, at least not from you. I am Gamaken. Pleasure to make your acquaintence."

"Likewise, Gamaken-san," Naruto said with a smile. "Sorry, but could you help me fight that snake?" he asked, pointing at the snake Kabuto was standing on.

"Certainly I can. Though I apologize in advance. I'm a bit clumsy," Gamaken said modestly.

The snake suddenly lunged again, and Gamaken, despite claiming to be clumsy, showed surprising agility as he leapt over the snake, flipping and stabbing his sasumata downward. The fork on the pole-weapon fit perfectly around the snake's neck, the teeth digging into the ground and holding the snake in place.

"Nice, Gamaken-san!" Naruto said with a wide grin. "Now, how about finishing it off?"

"As you wish," Gamaken said as he grabbed his shield, raising it and slamming the edge down onto the skull of the snake, crushing it with remarkable ease. Unfortunately, he missed Kabuto, who leapt out of the way.

"Ah, damn..." Naruto muttered, sighing. "Was kinda hoping you'd get Kabuto as well..."

"Many apologies. I'm kinda clumsy, you see..."

"Don't worry about it, Ken-san," Naruto said with a grin. "Hey, the old pervert can't mold chakra very well. Can you go help him with his snake?"

"It will be my pleasure... though I might not do it well..."

"I have faith in you," Naruto said, slapping his hand down on Gamaken's head in a pat, then looked to Sasuke. "Let's go."

"Hn."

The two jumped off, while Gamaken leapt toward Orochimaru's snake.

Kabuto, who had just landed in front of Tsunade, ready to attack, went wide-eyed when he suddenly had to jump back to avoid a slash from Sasuke's sword. The Genin had just appeared in front of him with amazing speed. He immediately charged Kabuto, undeterred by his miss, slashing over and over again, but getting blocked by a peculiar kunai that Kabuto wielded, the tip of which curved into a hook.

Kabuto was gritting his teeth in frustration, looking like he was barely reacting in time.

"Don't take me lightly, Genin!" Kabuto yelled, dodging a strike and swiping at Sasuke even faster, the hook-kunai tearing open Sasuke's throat, only for Sasuke to disappear in a poof of smoke. "Kage Bunshin?!"

A whistling sound was the only warning he got, before he had to dodge three shuriken that came flying through the smoke.

'Using the smoke from the Kage Bunshin to launch another attack... Not bad...' Kabuto thought. "You'll have to try harder than-"

Kabuto's eyes widened when a shadow was suddenly cast over him. He looked up in time to see a fist, courtesy of Naruto, heading straight for his face.

Naruto roared as his fist smashed into Kabuto's face, slamming him into the ground and kicking up a massive amount of dust.

"Did you get him?" Sasuke asked, standing in front of Tsunade, as Naruto landed next to him.

"Yeah, but not properly. The bastard softened the ground and headed under as soon as my punch connected. It hurt him, but it sure as hell didn't crush him."

"Been thinking about that," Sasuke said as a crash was heard, signaling that Gamaken had just crushed Orochimaru's snake.

"What?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Well, did he seem overly injured to you?" Sasuke muttered, rubbing his chin. "You got a solid hit in on him when we first arrived, and he just shook it off like it was nothing. And now, even though he softened the earth, that hit was twice as strong. It should have at least knocked him out."

"Now that you mention it, you're right..." Naruto mumbled. "You think he can somehow heal himself?"

"Wouldn't surprise me. We'll just have to ask him ourselves."

"Right, but first we need to get him out of the dirt," Naruto said, flashing through handseals. "Mokuton: Chika Ryoushi no Jutsu (Wood Element: Underground Hunters Technique)!"

The ground started to rumble, and within moments, the ground several feet in front of them burst, Kabuto shooting out of it, followed by several thick, thorny roots.

"He can't dodge in the air! Naruto, let's do it!" Sasuke said, flashing through handseals.

"Right!" Naruto said with a grin, doing the same.

"Naruto-Sasuke Konbi Jutsu:" they both announced as a wooden pole shot out of the ground, heading straight for Kabuto, taking the shape of a hand, its fingers extended and pressed together as if to deliver a spear hand strike. Sasuke finished his seal chain and reached down, grabbing the pole. Lightning ran along the entire pole up to the hand, which got covered in it, still heading straight for Kabuto. "Raijin no Te (Naruto-Sasuke Combo Technique: Hand of the Lightning God)!"

Kabuto screamed in fear as the hand rushed toward him, slicing right through his abdomen and cutting him in half.

"Well, at least the combo worked..." Naruto muttered with a sigh as the hand sank back into the ground, and Kabuto poofed into smoke, revealing two pieces of a log in his place.

Naruto's sensitive ears picked up on a sound, and he looked over toward where Gamaken had killed the snake, to see that Gamaken had already gone back to wherever he came from, and Jiraiya had just been sent flying through the air, courtesy of a kick from Orochimaru.

"Hey, he's not doing so well over there. Can you take care of Kabuto on your own?"

"He's a slippery bastard, and although I'm confident in my own skills, I'd rather have backup when I'm fighting him," Sasuke said, and when Naruto opened his mouth, the Uchiha cut him off before he could even say a word. "And I hardly even know Shizune. I doubt we could manage a proper teamwork, especially against Kabuto."

"Hey, you old hag!" Naruto barked to the still shivering Tsunade.

"Naruto-kun, don't-" Shizune started, but was interrupted by Naruto, who glared at Tsunade.

"You put the pervert in this situation, and now you have the audacity to sit there trembling at the sight of a bit of blood as he's risking his life for you?! Your grandfather would be ashamed of you! Were you entrusted with the Will of Fire or not?!"

That last sentence made Tsunade go wide-eyed. She looked up at Naruto in shock, but he didn't have time to say anything else.

Kabuto's hands burst from the ground, trying to grab Naruto and Sasuke's ankles, but the two Genin jumped to avoid them. Sasuke raised his sword and stabbed it down into the ground, getting a cry of pain from Kabuto, whose hands slipped back into the dirt again. Some distance away, he shot out of the ground and landed in a kneeling position, panting slightly.

"As expected..." he muttered, turning his head to look at Naruto and Sasuke. "It's a pain dealing with both of you at once... I-"

Kabuto stopped speaking at that, his eyes widening to the size of saucers as he looked at something over the two Genin's shoulders. Both of them looked, to see that Tsunade had risen to her feet. The shaking had completely stopped. With a surprisingly calm expression, Tsunade wiped a bit of blood from her mouth and ran it down the back of her hand.

"Oh, crap..." Kabuto muttered, his head snapping toward his master. "Orochimaru-sama! The Manda!"

Orochimaru looked toward them, his eyes widening as well when he saw what Tsunade was doing. He blurred out of view, to reappear next to Kabuto, who swiped some blood on Orochimaru's tattoo again. Over where he was, Jiraiya was also going through the process of summoning.

There were three yells of "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" resulting in three massive explosions of smoke.

As the smoke cleared, it revealed that three bosses had been summoned. It was Gamabunta, who Naruto easily recognized, upon whose head stood Jiraiya. Orochimaru and Kabuto stood on a massive, purple snake who had four horn-like protrusions on his head, pointing backward. It was easily the biggest of them, maybe not when it came to the thickness of its body, but surely its length.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Tsunade were standing on a massive, white and blue slug, who was just about the same size as Gamabunta.

"Manda and Orochimaru, Katsuyu and Tsunade... Long time no see," Gamabunta said, puffing on his pipe. "Jiraiya, are you planning some sort of-"

Gamabunta stopped when his eyes landed on Naruto.

"Hey, brat! Don't you have any pride as a summoner?! What are you doing on Katsuyu's head?!"

"Ah! Sorry!" Naruto barked immediately, blurring away to reappear on Bunta's head. "Well, the pervert was the one who summoned you... I was over there..."

"That doesn't matter! Katsuyu and I may be friends, but you're still a member of the Myobokuzan family!" Bunta said. "As such, when I appear, you should be standing on my head!"

"Eh... Bunta..." Jiraiya muttered, scratching his head. "You've never said that to me..."

"Well, you're not blond," Bunta defended simply. "Anyway, Naruto, looks like this is gonna be a bit of a grudge match. Why don't you hop off, before you get yourself hurt?"

"Alright, I'll make sure Gamakichi doesn't end up in the middle of it."

"What? Gamakichi?" Bunta muttered, turning his head to look down on the ground, where the small toad was sitting on the ground, waving up. "What are you doing here, Gamakichi? Who summoned you?!"

"Ah, it was the pervert, pops!" Gamakichi yelled. "By the way, we got a cool new summoner! He saved my hide and knows how to kick ass!"

Gamabunta grumbled and looked back at Naruto.

"Naruto, I'm leaving him to you, then," he said, to which Naruto nodded and blurred away, reappearing next to Gamakichi, picking him up. Now that Gamakichi was safe, Bunta looked at the perverted sage on his head. "Jiraiya! Prepare to be punished when we meet next!"

Jiriaya flinched at that. Meanwhile, Tsunade glanced at Sasuke.

"Uchiha Sasuke, right?"

"Hn."

"You heard the toad. It's best if you join the brat on the ground."

Sasuke didn't respond. Instead, he just twirled his sword, before sheathing it and blurring away.

–

"Eh?! Suddenly you accept?!" Naruto barked the next day, sitting in the bar where they had first found Tsunade. "How in the...?"

"Well, I guess you could say it was on a whim," Tsunade said simply, a pleasant smile on her face. "I suppose it's for the best that I take the position, so that someone who's inherited sensei's will can take the position."

"Couldn't you have made that decision a week ago?! We would've already been back in Konoha!"

"But then, Naruto, we never would have found out if Combo Thirty-Eight truly worked in real combat," Sasuke remarked, which made Naruto blink.

"Oh, that's true, I suppose... But still, I haven't really had any new jutsu to work on, so it's mostly been boring as hell..."

"You're a whiny brat, aren't you?" Tsunade muttered. "Can't believe you're my grandson..."

"Give me a break... Most of my days for years now have been spent either training or going on missions. Taking a break like this is just annoying..." Naruto said, then stood up. "Well then, since it's decided, let's head back immediately!"

"Wait, Naruto," Tsunade said, standing up as well as Naruto started marching for the exit. "Take off your happuri."

"Eh?"

"Give it," Tsunade said as she walked up to Naruto, holding out her hand. Naruto stared suspiciously at her, but finally untied his happuri and handed it over.

Tsunade took it and extended her finger, which started glowing. She carved something into the inside of the happuri, then handed it back. Naruto took it and looked at what she had carved. The word 'Dream' was carved into the happuri, which made Naruto grin slightly. Then, he felt Tsunade's fingers cup his chin, and she pressed her lips against his forehead.

While Naruto was still reeling from the shock of this event, Tsunade took off her necklace and tied it around Naruto's neck, before putting a hand on his head.

"Well, I'm entrusting their dreams to you," she said with a bright smile, which made Naruto blink.

"Their dreams...? Who's them?"

"Mm, who indeed?"

"Hey, granny! Don't say something so cryptic and then just walk away!"

–

**So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Remember to leave a review!**

**Peace,**

**ZnK**


	10. Chapter 10

**Tenth chapter! It's shorter than usual, 'cause I didn't feel like continuing past where it ended. I was thinking of adding in a scene where Naruto got a bit flirty with Ino, but then I decided to hold off on such things until after the time-skip, when they're a little older.**

–

"NARUTO-NII-CHAN!"

Naruto froze as he walked through Konoha, and turned around to find none other than Konohamaru rushing up to him. Now that Naruto thought about it, Konohamaru had changed a lot since they first met. Originally wearing a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and a helmet-looking thing, along with a long scarf, Konohamaru had been a bit of a spoiled brat, but now, he had mellowed out a lot, and had taken to training with Naruto whenever the blond invited him. He had even dispensed his old clothes, now wearing clothes that looked much like the clothing Naruto had seen the Sandaime wear in pictures from his Jounin days, black ninja pants and a black kimono shirt over mesh. He still wore a long scarf, but it was black now. Konohamaru had originally thought about dispensing the scarf as well, but when Naruto commented on how it reminded him of the long tails on the Sandaime's forehead protector, he decided to keep it. He also wore a black headband, which kept his hair out of his eyes. To get used to the feel, for when he became a ninja, he'd say if asked.

"Oh, it's been a while, hasn't it, Saru?" Naruto said, grinning at his somewhat-student.

"Nii-chan!" Konohamaru yelled, looking upset about something. "I heard that you brought back some old hag to be the Godaime Hokage!"

"Ah, yeah, the Sandaime's old student, my grandmother, Tsunade," Naruto said with a nod. "What's wrong, Saru?"

"How could it have been decided so early?!"

"Huh?"

Konohamaru glared at Naruto.

"The geezer's corpse is barely even cold, and they just go ahead and pick a new one?! They're just gonna forget that he ever existed and just move on with-"

Konohamaru would have continued with his rant, hand he not been interrupted by a finger flicking him on the forehead, making him flinch.

"Eeeh, I never expected you to be an idiot, Saru..."

"W-What?! I'm not an idiot!" Konohamaru protested. "You're the idiot, idiot!"

Naruto put a hand on Konohamaru's head and spun him around to look at the Hokage Monument in the distance.

"See those faces, Saru? And that great tree?" Naruto asked, pointing up at the monument, and his own homage to the Sandaime Hokage. Konohamaru huffed.

"What about them?"

"They're there to show that even if they're dead, even if their bones turn to dust, the previous Hokage will never be forgotten," Naruto said, moving his hand down to pat him on the shoulder. "They're always watching over us, and their will, their dreams, live on inside us. The old geezer will never just be forgotten. He will live on forever, as long as his Will of Fire exists in a Sarutobi. You, and Asuma-sensei."

"Huh?" Konohamaru muttered again, looking up at Naruto now, which made the blond grin.

"Just like how the spirit and the memories of the Senju live on in me, Sarutobi Hiruzen lives on in you, and in everyone he considered family. Do you remember who those were?"

"Um..." Konohamaru scratched his head. "He told us once during class that it was everyone in the village..."

"Exactly. How can a loving old geezer like that be forgotten?"

Naruto leaned in to whisper conspiratorically.

"And between you and me, how can he be forgotten in favor of a drunken, gambling old lady like my grandmother?"

Konohamaru snorted, and Naruto straightened up again, patting Konohamaru on the head once more.

"Alright, how about some training?"

"Yeah!"

"I've got a jutsu for you, one that the old man taught me. I guess he wanted me to teach it to you once you got a bit older, but it's always good to get an early start, right?"

"Sweet! Naruto-nii-chan, you're the best!"

"Oka-"

Naruto was interrupted when his senses picked up on something, and a second later, an ANBU wearing a white coat appeared before him.

"Yo, Yura-taicho!" Naruto said, raising his hand in greeting. "Looks like it's you who always draws the short straw, eh?"

"Naruto-san, your presence is once more requested at the Hokage Tower."

"Eeeh. Don't tell me those old fossils want to chew me out or something..."

"It was Godaime-sama who requested it."

Naruto grinned at that.

"Alright, thanks, Yura-taicho."

The ANBU nodded once, and then blurred away.

"Ah, sorry, Saru," Naruto said, looking down at Konohamaru. "Looks like we can't train right now."

"Aw, man!" Konohamaru whined, pouting. "I wanted to learn the geezer's jutsu!"

"Relax. I'll come find you when my business with granny is done, yeah?"

"Alright!"

–

"I'm coming in," Naruto said as he knocked on the door of the Hokage's office and stepped inside without waiting for a response, to find Tsunade sitting behind her desk, Shizune standing behind it, and Sasuke standing in front of it.

"You're late, Naruto," Sasuke said, giving Naruto a disapproving look. "You're not picking up on Kakashi's bad habits, are you?"

"Ah, sorry, sorry," Naruto said, waving him off. "I ran into Saru, and had to comfort him."

"Huh?" Tsunade uttered. "Saru?"

"Sarutobi Konohamaru," Sasuke informed her. "The Sandaime's grandson. He's sort of Naruto's student."

Tsunade blinked, staring at Naruto in surprise for a while, then smiled brightly, leaning back and letting out a very girly sound.

"Aaah, how nostalgic!"

"Eh?"

"When the Shodai and Nidaime took Sarutobi-sensei under their wing, the Nidaime had the habit of calling sensei 'Saru,'" Tsunade explained with a bright smile. "It really goes to show that their spirits live on in their descendants."

Naruto grinned slightly at that, but then focused on the matter at hand.

"Anyway, you wanted to see us, granny?"

Tsunade twitched at the name, but nonetheless nodded, since she couldn't actually claim not to be a granny. She coughed into her fist and said, "Right, to business. Senju Naruto! Uchiha Sasuke!"

Both shinobi somewhat snapped to attention. They did straighten up somewhat, and focused on her completely, but they looked far from being straight and stiff as boards.

"I have reviewed your performances during the Chunnin Exam, and I have seen your skills in real battle. I have therefore decided to promote the both of you to the rank of Chunnin!"

"Eeeeh?" Naruto muttered, frowning. "Hey, granny, can't you hold off on promoting Sasuke for about five minutes?"

"Don't get too caught up on who got promoted first, you moron," Sasuke scolded, shaking his head. "Just be happy it was the both of us. Though, if it makes you feel any better, she did say your name first."

Naruto snapped his fingers in triumph.

"That she did!" he said happily, flashing Tsunade a thumbs up. "Thanks, granny!"

"Really..." Tsunade muttered as Shizune handed both shinobi a flak vest. "Can't you call me Hokage-sama like everybody else?"

"In your dreams, maybe!" Naruto said with a grin as he put on his new vest, zipping it up. He noticed, however, that the collar of the vest got in the way of his fur collar, so he took the vest off again, taking out a kunai and slicing off the collar, before putting it on again. "Alright, that's better!"

"Maybe I should do that as well..." Sasuke muttered, tugging at the trademark Uchiha collar of his shirt.

"Or you could wear standard shinobi clothing," Tsunade suggested, but she was ignored as Sasuke took his vest off again.

"I'll decide when I get home," he said, then looked to Tsunade. "Will that be all, Hokage-sama?"

"That will be all. Though now that you are Chunnin, and the village is low on manpower, you should prepare to receive many missions in the near future."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said, waving her off. "Alright, time to go show this to Saru!"

With that, he blurred away, the only sign of him having actually moved out of the office being a breeze, and the window suddenly being open.

Naruto blurred into view on Team Seven's training ground, where he knew Konohamaru would be, and he was not surprised to find the boy there, doing push-ups, probably in preparation for learning the new jutsu.

"Yo, Saru!" Naruto greeted with a proud grin on his face. "I see you're working hard! Good job!"

"Nii-chan!" Konohamaru said, shooting to his feet immediately, only to blink at what he saw. "Eh... You're a Chunnin now?"

"That's right! Your nii-san is moving up in the world!" Naruto said, grinning even wider. Then, he clapped his hands together. "Alright! Time for me to teach you a jutsu!"

"Yeah! Teach me grandpa's jutsu!"

"Watch closely, Saru," Naruto said, fishing a shuriken out of its holster and holding it up. He turned toward the three poles by the memorial stone and threw the shuriken, flashing through seals. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin!"

The one kunai turned into twenty, all of which embedded themselves into the pole.

"Wow!" Konohamaru yelled excitedly. Then, the smile on his face faded a bit. "But, nii-chan, compared to your other jutsu... this feels kinda weak, doesn't it?"

"Does it?" Naruto asked, glancing back at Konohamaru, raising an eyebrow. "It's not like twenty is the maximum number, nor are these shuriken the only ones you can duplicate."

"Huh?"

"Shuriken of all sizes, and even kunai, smoke bombs, anything, really, can be cloned using Shuriken Kage Bunshin."

Konohamaru blinked.

"So?"

This made Naruto sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath, then flicked Konohamaru on the forehead again.

"Just think for a moment, Saru! As long as the enemy isn't a Wind user, don't you think it would be amazingly difficult for them to avoid fifty, a hundred, or even a thousand shuriken coming straight at them?"

Konohamaru's eyes widened in excitement.

"Woah! I can make thousands?!"

"I doubt you're quite there yet when it comes to chakra capacity," Naruto said, patting Konohamaru on the head. "But yeah, when you're older, you'll be able to make thousands, Saru. Ram, Rat, Bird, Boar, Tiger. Get to work."

"Hey, nii-chan!" Konohamaru called as Naruto started walking away. "Can't you stay for a while and supervise?"

"I was just promoted, you know. I have to go get my info updated at the ninja registry," Naruto said, looking over his shoulder at Konohamaru, who pouted. This made him sigh. "Well... it's not like it can't wait until tomorrow."

"Alright!"

–

Tsunade sat behind her desk, filling out paperwork, when she suddenly perked up.

"If you're hoping to sneak a peek at some skin, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed."

"Heh, you discovered me!" came Jiraiya's voice as the man rose from under the window, leaning in with a grin. "I never was able to hide from you..."

"Are you just here to enjoy some nostalgia, Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

"No, just heard that you promoted Naruto and Sasuke."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, that made me think about something," Jiraiya said, his grin turning sly. "What was the real reason for accepting the Hokage position?"

Tsunade smirked. "Saw right through me, eh?"

"You got over your hemophobia, you accepted the position, and you gave the brat your necklace," Jiraiya said, climbing inside. "As much as I'd love it if you did so because of what I said, I know that's not true. So, why did you do it? It wasn't on a whim, that's for damn sure."

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Tsunade muttered as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms under her impressive bust. "It was the brat, of course. As if his damn dream wasn't enough, he made sure to remind me of the Will of Fire, and of all the things I had tried so hard to forget, about this village, about my grandfather, about Sarutobi-sensei... and their dreams..."

"And the dreams of Nawaki and Dan?"

Tsunade grunted at that.

"It's not just that, though..."

"Eh?"

"When Naruto shouted at me on that battlefield... it was like my grandfather was shouting..."

"As he said, the Senju blood boils in his veins," Jiraiya said with a grin. "Quite the kid, right?"

"That brat is annoying... I really don't mind being the Hokage, but gambling and drinking was a damn sight better than sitting in an office all day doing paperwork..."

"Well, at least this means the Hokage Monument's gonna be a lot more beautiful, right?"

Tsunade gave Jiraiya a look that clearly told him that his flattery wasn't going to give him a peek. Then, she smiled softly.

"That big wooden Sandaime... Naruto's work?"

"Who else could it be?" Jiraiya said as he gave another grin, crossing his arms. "He's named it the Shintai Tree."

"Absolute Truth... the geezer's favorite phrase, huh?" Tsunade said. She got up and walked over to the window, looking out to stare at the Shintai Tree. "Is going overboard a recurring trait with Naruto?"

"Most of the time. Get ready for him coming back from missions with reports of massive amounts of property damage."

"Crap..."

"By the way, there's something I need to talk to you about..." Jiraiya said, suddenly turning serious. "It's about Akatsuki..."

"Akatsuki?"

–

Hyuuga Hinata stepped into the Yamanaka flower shop, smiling softly to herself. While she was a bit saddened to know that she wasn't going to be promoted, she was still pleased to hear that Naruto and Sasuke had both been promoted.

"Welcome!" came a familiar voice from behind the counter, and Hinata saw her former classmate Ino there, smiling brightly at her. "Oh, Hinata! It's been a while, eh?"

"Good afternoon, Ino-san," Hinata said, giving Ino a small bow in greeting.

"Ah, no need to be so formal, Hinata, we're friends, after all!" the blond girl said, waving her off. "Let me guess, here to buy some flowers for Sasuke-kun and Naruto?"

Hinata blinked in surprise.

"Y-Yes, how did you know?"

"It's no secret that those two have been promoted to Chunnin," Ino said with a small grin. "Well, if there was anyone I knew would become Chunnin, it was those two. Especially after how well they did in the Academy."

"Yes... They are special, those two..." Hinata said as she approached the counter, looking a bit somber. "It... actually makes me a bit envious..."

"Don't compare yourself to those two, Hinata!" Ino scolded immediately. "They're in a whole other league than the rest of us!"

"That's... not what I meant, Ino," Hinata said, sighing as she looked up at the blond girl. "It's their friendship..."

"What?"

Hinata smiled softly. "Actually, though we're a team, and we have great chemistry... I don't have the same kind of bond with those two as they do with each other..."

"They're that close?" Ino asked in surprise. "I mean, I knew from our academy days that they were good friends, but..."

"They're more than just good friends. They're almost like brothers. They know each other so well that they hardly ever have to talk anymore during training. Just by looking at each other's movements, they can tell what the other is going to do."

"Speaking of training," Ino said, a somewhat perverted grin appearing on her face as she leaned closer. "That should give you plenty of opportunities to get up close to Naruto, right? How's that going?"

Hinata gave another soft smile.

"I... I have given up on my crush," she said quietly, which made Ino go wide-eyed. "At first, I wanted nothing more than for Naruto-kun to take me out on a date and tell me he loved me, but... I don't think that can ever happen between us... Even if it did, it would feel a bit weird..."

"Weird?"

"Those two... I've come to look at Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun like brothers. They are the older brothers who protect me and help me out when I need it," Hinata explained. "I don't think I can ever go back to crushing on Naruto-kun and watching him from a distance."

"Eeeh, that's surprising to hear," Ino said, her eyebrows shooting up. "I never thought I would hear you say something like that..."

Hinata just smiled at her.

"Oh, by the way," Ino said, grinning again. "How is Sasuke-kun? Is he still available?"

Hinata stiffened at hearing that, wondering what she was going to say. After all, Sasuke had never said that his sexual preferences were secret, but neither had he told Hinata that she could go blabbing about it whenever anyone asked... And Ino loved gossip, so...

"I-I don't know about that..." Hinata muttered weakly, glancing away. Ino caught her hesitation immediately, and she lashed out, grabbing Hinata's collar and pulling her closer.

"Whaaat?! Why did it take you so long to answer? Do you know something but can't tell me? Do you suspect something? Have you seen him with a suspicious-looking girl?"

"I-I..." Hinata stuttered, her eyes darting left and right in search of an escape. "I... Actually... I..."

Ino noticed what she was doing and immediately let go of Hinata, clearing her throat and then taking a deep breath.

"Sorry about that..." she muttered. "Anyway, if you know something, you have to tell me, alright?"

"Well, the thing is..." Hinata mumbled, before leaning closer. "If I tell you, you have to swear not to tell anyone else, okay?"

"Not even Forehead?" Ino asked, to which Hinata shook her head. "Oooh, it's juicy, then? Tell me, tell me..."

"Actually, Sasuke-kun is..." Hinata whispered.

Outside the flower shop, Naruto walked down the street with Konohamaru, his hands in his pockets, when a voice loudly shrieked "WHAAAAAT?!"

"Eh?" Naruto uttered, looking at the flower shop. "Did Ino discover that blond isn't her natural hair color, or something?"

"I guess we'll have to find out, nii-chan."

Naruto nodded, and the two made their way into the flower shop, to see Hinata standing by the counter, staring worriedly at Ino, who was clutching at her head in pure shock, looking left, right, up, and down in some kind of attempt to figure out if this was all an elaborate Genjutsu, or something.

"How can that be?!" Ino yelled. "It couldn't...! But...! Shouldn't there have been a newsletter or something to let us know not to bother?! Shouldn't he be on some kind of list of unavailable bachelors?!"

"Afternoon, you two!" Naruto greeted, raising his hand in greeting. Ino completely ignored him, and Hinata's head snapped in his direction in surprise, looking like a child who had just been caught stealing cookies. "Ah, you told her about Sasuke?"

"Y-Yes... Sorry..."

"It's cool, Hinata. If Sasuke wanted it to be a secret, he never would have told me," Naruto said with a grin.

Immediately, two hands grabbed Naruto's collar, and he immediately found Ino's face less than two inches away from his own, glaring heatedly into his eyes.

"Was it you, you bastard?! Did you turn him, or something?!"

"Don't be silly..." Naruto muttered, furrowing his brow. "As always, I am still an avid fan of breasts, and I'm not really a fan of penis or being invaded by a guy..."

Ino froze, as did Hinata. Naruto could see their faces steadily reddening. No doubt, both of them were envisioning that which Naruto absolutely refused to envision.

"Nii-chan..." Konohamaru muttered as Naruto pried himself out of the frozen Ino's grip. "Girls are weird, aren't they?"

"Kinda weird, yeah," he said, waving his hand in front of Ino's face. "Hey, Ino, you alright?"

"I-I-Invasion..." Ino uttered in complete shock. Then, she gave off a noise that sounded like "Puff!" before passing out, her face burning. Hinata followed quickly.

"Tch, women!" Naruto barked, staring down at the two girls. "Why do they always go all faint when thinking about two guys?"

"Two guys?" Konohamaru asked. "Nii-chan, what does that mean?"

"A-Ah!" Naruto flinched when he realized that no one had even given Konohamaru the Talk yet. "W-Well... The thing is, Saru... Hm..."

"Stop beating around the bush and tell me already!"

Naruto's eyes darted toward the exit. Then, he went wide-eyed and pointed behind Konohamaru.

"Ah! Why does Ino have a pinup on the wall?!"

Konohamaru, surprisingly perverted for his age (despite being completely clueless when it came to sex and the like), snapped around to look, and Naruto took that opportunity to run out of the flower shop.

"HEY, NII-CHAN! COME BACK HERE!"

"Maybe next time, Saru! Or better yet, ask Asuma-sensei!"

–

"Tch..."

Sasuke stood outside the door to his parents' house in the Uchiha district, sheathing his sword. In front of him lay five ninja from Otogakure no Sato. Four of them were dead, and one was severely wounded.

"The hell is this?" Sasuke asked as he walked up to the only still living ninja. "Was your mission to kill or kidnap me? You better spill it now, before I hand you over to the Torture and Interrogation Department."

The ninja's mouth moved, but Sasuke was faster. As the ninja's jaws snapped shut, they were prevented from closing fully by Sasuke's sandal.

"Suicide pill, huh?" he asked, kneeling and forcing the ninja's mouth open to pull out a fake tooth. "That's pretty hardcore. Guess you won't talk willingly, so I'll have to leave you to Ibiki-san. I promise you'll regret not talking to me."

So, two hours later found Sasuke standing in Tsunade's office, in front of her desk with his arms crossed.

"The Oto-ninja's condition has been stabilized, and he's being taken to the Torture and Interrogation Department right now," Tsunade informed him. "They didn't tell you anything about their purpose?"

"No, they were in hiding, and though I'm no Naruto, I sensed them. When I informed them that they had been discovered, they just attacked. They were at least trying to kill me, but judging by how those guards Orochimaru brought during the invasion had Curse Seals on them, there's also a chance that they were here to kidnap me."

"Given how Orochimaru has created a reincarnation jutsu that allows him to move to other bodies, and how his goal in life is to learn all the jutsu in the world, I think it's safe to say that kidnapping was their objective," Tsunade said thoughtfully. "No doubt, he wants your Sharingan. He has expressed an interest in you, after all."

"It's true that it would help him achieve his goal, but how can you be sure?" Sasuke asked.

"Because Orochimaru was once a member of the group known as Akatsuki," Tsunade said, which made Sasuke go wide-eyed.

"Akatsuki? Isn't that the group Jiraiya-sama claimed are after Naruto?"

"The very same. As you know, Uchiha Itachi is a member of that group. For some reason, Orochimaru left them. My guess is that Orochimaru attempted to take over Itachi's body."

"Evidently, he failed."

"Of course, this is all purely speculation," Tsunade said, leaning back. "We cannot be sure of what they wanted with you, but Orochimaru has never been one to give up. I will assign a couple of ANBU to guard you for a while."

"Do you have to?" Sasuke muttered. "I'm not complaining, but Naruto always keeps his senses up during training, and their presence might unnerve him."

"I don't think you have to worry about that for a while."

Sasuke opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but just then the door to her office opened, accompanied by a voice saying, "I'm coming in."

"Oh, good timing, Naruto," Tsunade said, smiling. "I was actually going to send for you."

"Why?" Naruto muttered. "I just came because Sasuke was here. I have things to do, you know."

"Things more important than orders from the Hokage?!" Tsunade barked, a vein in her forehead pulsing.

"Some," Naruto confirmed. "Anyway, since you were going to call for me, what do you need?"

"Naruto, Jiraiya has requested to take you on as his official apprentice," Tsunade said, calming down, which made both Naruto and Sasuke blink. "And he has also requested to take you on a training trip."

"Training trip?" Naruto muttered. "Why?"

"I can answer that," came Jiraiya's voice from the window as it slid open, to reveal the old pervert standing outside. "It's because of Akatsuki. When I was investigating Orochimaru's reincarnation jutsu, information concerning them came to light."

"What kind of information?" Sasuke wanted to know.

"When they came to Konoha, they did so to kidnap you before you were properly trained. They underestimated your skills, and it's safe to say that they won't be trying it again until their plans are ready to be executed," Jiraiya said, grinning at Naruto. "That's at least three years from now."

"And you want to train me during that time?" Naruto asked, narrowing his eyes. "A three-year trip?"

"That's right," Jiraiya said with a nod. "We will also be doing missions for Konoha during the trip, so it won't be all training. You need plenty of experience as well, after all."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, who shrugged, and then looked at Tsunade.

"Why does it feel like I don't really have a choice in this?"

"You do have a choice, though," Tsunade said, crossing her arms. "You can either go on this trip, or resign yourself to having ANBU guards following you around all day and all night. That wouldn't bother a normal shinobi, but given your sensor skills..."

Naruto grunted and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah, that'd be a real headache..."

"I think this trip will be good for you," Sasuke said. He gave a smirk and crossed his arms, looking extremely arrogant. "You need to learn how to fight without me there to save your ass."

"What was that just now?!" Naruto snapped, slamming his forehead against Sasuke's and glaring at him. "Want me to show you who'd save whose ass, you bastard?"

"I love it when you talk about asses," Sasuke said, and pecked Naruto on the mouth, which caused the blond to freeze, then fling himself back, wiping his mouth.

"Damn you! You can't use that weapon whenever you feel like it!" the blond barked. "It's cheating!"

"Naruto, is there something you'd like to tell me?" Jiraiya muttered, looking a bit grossed out.

"Shut up! There's nothing I have to say! I like boobs!" Naruto barked, pointing at Sasuke. "He just likes to creep me out!"

"Anyway..." Tsunade said, her eyes closed with a vein pulsing on her forehead. "What's your answer, Naruto?"

All traces of righteous anger and embarrassment disappeared, and Naruto straightened up.

"Like I said, it doesn't sound like I have a choice. So, naturally, I'll go on the trip with the pervert."

"Good!" Jiraiya said happily. "We leave tomorrow at noon! Make sure to pack well and meet me at the western gate!"

With that, the old pervert jumped off.

"I suppose all that's left is to tell Hinata," Naruto said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking off. "Sasuke, you coming?"

"I still have things to discuss with the Godaime," Sasuke said. "I'll catch up later."

Naruto gave a wave, then left the office.

It was starting to become late evening, but Naruto hadn't had dinner yet, so he figured he'd swing by the Hyuuga compound and pick up Hinata. He wasn't at all surprised to find her sparring with her father.

"Yo, Hinata!" Naruto said with a wave as he walked over to her and Hiashi, who turned to him in surprise.

"You...! How do you keep getting in here?" he demanded, and Naruto shrugged.

"Actually, this time I was let in by the guards," the blond said, jutting his thumb over his shoulder. "Got a bit of an announcement, so I figured I'd buy Hinata some dinner and tell her."

Hinata nodded and looked at Hiashi.

"Father, may I be excused?"

Hiashi looked contemplative, like he really didn't want to allow it, if only to show Naruto that his presence was unwanted, but at the same time, he kinda looked like he felt that Hinata was good enough that she _could_ skip out on training for an evening.

"Go," he told her finally, turning and heading back to their house. "We will continue tomorrow."

Hinata gave her father a bow, then jogged over to Naruto.

"Let's go, Naruto-kun!"

"Would you mind if we went out for ramen?" Naruto asked with an apologetic smile on his face.

"I don't mind..."

So, ten minutes later found Naruto and Hinata sitting at Ichiraku Ramen, eating their noodles at a nice, somewhat slow pace. Even Naruto was doing so, as he wanted to savor the taste, considering that he wouldn't be able to eat Ichiraku ramen for three years.

"Um, Naruto-kun..." Hinata mumbled, glancing at Naruto. "You said you had an announcement..."

"Yeah," Naruto said, before downing the broth in his bowl. He set it down on the counter and stared at it for a while, then raised his hand. "Hey, old man Teuchi! Another bowl! Plenty of pork!"

"Yes, coming right up!"

Naruto grinned in response, then turned to look at Hinata. "You won't be seeing me for a while. The old pervert is taking me on a three-year training trip."

"Th-Three years?" Hinata repeated in surprise. "Why would he...?"

"I think it's in preparation for the next time the Akatsuki comes knocking," Naruto said as Teuchi set down another bowl of ramen in front of him. "I guess I'm not strong enough to face them yet."

Naruto was quiet for a while. Then, he clapped his hands together.

"So, how were the last two weeks for you? Anything dangerous happen?"

"Um... Not really..." Hinata mumbled. "The only thing that happened was that I saw a spider in my room... but I killed it..."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but Sasuke's voice was heard saying, "Yo," as he stepped inside, taking a seat next to Naruto.

"What a night..." Sasuke muttered. "I got a visit from five Oto-ninja, trying to-"

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto interrupted, waving him off. "But listen to this! Hinata faced down a spider... and killed it!"

Sasuke's eyebrows rose at that.

"Oh, wow... That took guts. Nice one, Hinata."

"Awesome!" Naruto said, grinning and flashing Hinata two thumbs up.

Hinata, knowing that her two teammates were just joking around, had no problem joining in on the laughter.

Once the laughter died down, Naruto smiled softly.

"I'm gonna miss you guys, that's for damn sure..."

"I'll miss you too..." Hinata said, smiling as well.

There was silence. After a moment, Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, who was calmly slurping his ramen. He stared for another few moments, his eyebrow beginning to twitch, as Sasuke sipped the glass of water he'd been served alongside his ramen. A vein began pulsing on his forehead as Sasuke stretched.

"Hey! Say something!" Naruto barked finally.

"Fine," Sasuke said, turning to Naruto and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto... I'm really going to enjoy the peace and quie-"

A fist smashed into Sasuke's face, knocking him off his seat.

"Damn it, Sasuke! Why do you have to ruin a nice, heart-warming moment like that?!"

Sasuke didn't respond, rubbing his cheek and standing up again. He was quiet for a moment, and then smirked at Naruto.

"Make sure to get stronger, yeah?"

That made Naruto grin.

"Of course! You too!" he ordered, before turning to Hinata. "You too, Hinata! I expect you to be able to kick ass, heal them, and then kick 'em again when I get back!"

"I'll try my best..."

–

**So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Remember to leave a review!**

**Peace,**

**ZnK**


	11. Chapter 11

**So, I know how much you all _love_ AN-only updates, so I had to release the eleventh chapter early with a bit of news. I will be going away to Stockholm for a month, so I won't be able to update until then. I hope you all stay patient and such, and that you will be eagerly expecting a new update sometime after the 19th of September!**

–

"SASUKE-NII-CHAN!"

Uchiha Sasuke, sixteen-year old Konohagakure Chunnin, sighed as he rubbed his forehead. In the three years since Naruto went off with Jiraiya on his training trip, Sasuke had made a drastic change to his wardrobe. He no longer wore any real Uchiha-style of clothing. Instead, he wore traditional, black Chunnin clothes. The only thing that wasn't standard was the armguards he wore, which stretched down to segment into a handguard, which was held to his hands by straps. He still had a kunai pouch on the left side of his back-waist, and his chokuto on his right. The only thing different about the shirt he wore was that while he had the standard Uzumaki swirl on his right shoulder (symbolizing Konoha's strong ties with the Uzumaki clan), he had the Uchiha symbol on his left.

Sasuke's head turned toward the source of the voice, now twelve-year old Sarutobi Konohamaru, who approached him with his two friends, Moegi and Udon as he sat on one of the three poles at Team Seven's old training ground.

"What's wrong, Konohamaru?" Sasuke asked.

"We're graduating in a couple of days!" Konohamaru said with a massive grin. "So, teach us something cool to show off with at graduation!"

"Ninja aren't supposed to show off their moves, you know..." Sasuke muttered. "Besides, I may have taught you a few Taijutsu moves, but teaching you guys is really Naruto's job..."

"But he's not here right now..." Moegi muttered, doing her very best to give him a set of heart-wrenching puppy dog eyes. Unfortunately for her, Sasuke had repeatedly demonstrated that Uchiha were immune to that technique.

"It doesn't matter if you learn it now, a week from now, or a month from now, I guarantee that Naruto will be back long before you go out on C-rank missions," Sasuke said, hopping off the pole and walking off. "Later, guys."

Sasuke sighed as he walked. He liked the Konohamaru Corps, that was for damn sure. They were adorable most of the time, but they tended to annoy him now and then. It was a real bother that only Naruto seemed to be patient enough with.

Sasuke supposed it was because annoying idiots had no problem hanging out with other annoying idiots...

–

"A-A-ACHE-HEYOH!" a certain blond-haired sixteen-year old sneezed loudly as he walked along the path leading toward Konoha. He had changed his outfit since he left, now wearing standard shinobi clothes. The only thing that really set him apart from most other ninja was the two kunai pouches he had strapped to his back-waist, along with the large fur collar that was attached to his shirt. His Chunnin vest didn't have a collar, as it would have gotten in the way of his fur.

"Oho, sounds like some young beauty is talking about you, eh?" the old man walking next to him said, a great lecherous grin on his face. "Maybe it's that Saki girl in Degarashi, eh?"

"Poke a hole in that stiffy of yours, pervert..." Senju Naruto muttered, glaring at the old man. "It was just a sneeze. Although I do have this sudden urge to break Sasuke's nose..."

"You've said that thousands of times now all throughout our trip..." Jiraiya said. "Are you sure you guys are friends?"

"Oh yeah, best of friends," Naruto said with a nod. "But, you know, that doesn't mean I don't get the urge to break his face if he insults me."

The duo saw the gates in the distance, open as usual. Without a doubt, Kotetsu and Izumo were once more guarding it. It seemed like they had the habit of drawing the short straw again and again.

"Hm... It's been a while, but..." Naruto grinned at Jiraiya. "...I think I can beat you."

"You brat, you're a hundred years too early to challenge me!" Jiraiya barked. He looked indignant for only a moment, however, before he grinned as well. "But since you're insistent, I suppose I can show you how inferior you are."

"Alright, then," Naruto said as he knelt and picked up a rock. "Hokage Tower?"

"Tsunade's office."

"Okay! Ready, and..."

Naruto tossed the rock into the air, and the two watched as it descended. The second it hit the ground, the two ninja disappeared in a blur.

Meanwhile, in Tsunade's office, the blond Hokage was staring at Uchiha Sasuke with disapproval.

"When a mission is completed, isn't a shinobi's first duty to report to the Hokage?" she muttered. "Why was I informed that you went to the training ground first?"

"I needed a rest, and I can write better reports with a clear mind," Sasuke said as he handed over his report, which Tsunade took with a grumble.

"It seems you've got an answer for everything, doesn't it?" Tsunade said, chuckling softly. "It seems Naruto rubbed off on you more than you care to admit."

"It seems I did catch a bit of laziness from him," Sasuke said with a nod. "It's just too bad he's not around. Watching the clouds is no fun when you're alone."

"By the way, have you heard-"

Tsunade was interrupted when her window was suddenly smashed, a black, white, and yellow blur flipping into the office. The blur landed on its feet, followed quickly by a red, green, and white blur.

"First!" Senju Naruto exclaimed, raising his hands triumphantly into the air.

"Damn it!" Jiraiya muttered, panting slightly. "Were I ten years younger, I would have won that, and you know it!"

"Naruto? Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked, her eyes wide as she stared at the two ninja. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU SMASH MY WINDOW?!"

"Well, if I'd taken the time to open it, he would have caught up," Naruto said, jutting his thumb over his shoulder to point at Jiraiya.

"Yo, it's been a while," Sasuke said, which made Naruto's head snap toward him.

"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, a bright smile appearing on his face as he rushed up to his brother and gave him a bone-crushing hug.

To a bystander, such as Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune, it looked hilarious as Naruto's monster strength made Sasuke's body go slack, and Naruto was swinging him around as though he was hugging a ragdoll.

"N-Naruto..." Sasuke wheezed, tapping Naruto's arm. "Air...!"

"Aaah! It's been so long!" Naruto sang, completely ignoring his friend, as was customary for him. When he finally let Sasuke go, the Uchiha had to lean on him for a moment to catch his breath. Then, he straightened up, and immediately noticed something.

"The hell...?" Sasuke muttered, putting a hand on Naruto's head to push down his hair. "You've gotten as tall as me..."

"What are you on about? I've always been as tall as you."

"No, you've always been an inch shorter than me," Sasuke said, glaring at Naruto. "Why are you suddenly just as tall?"

"Because I'm awesome, that's why."

"As heartwarming as this reunion is, I expect a report on your training," Tsunade spoke up, making both ninja look at her. "And I want it today."

"Alright, pervert, I'll leave it to you," Naruto said, nodding to Jiraiya, whose head snapped in his direction. Before he could say anything, however, Naruto blurred away.

"I better go to and make sure the idiot doesn't hurt himself," Sasuke said. "Knowing him, he's probably forgotten where to go."

With that, he blurred away as well.

"If he wanted to leave, he didn't have to make up such a lame excuse..." Tsunade muttered, frowning. Then, she glanced at Jiraiya. "So, what did you do?"

"There wasn't really much I could teach him," Jiraiya said happily. "That kid is a genius. Well, at least when it comes to jutsu. The only thing I could teach him was Fuuinjutsu. And even there, he was already knowledgeable. I was also amazed when he showed a strong affinity for a third element."

"A third?"

–

During the last three years, Hinata had found friends in Ino and Sakura. While Sakura had once been the type to not really make friends with her, she had changed after Ino had brought her along to meet with Hinata a couple of times.

So now, the three of them were friends, and they always took the time to meet and catch up between missions. It was happening less often now, though, when all three of the were Chunnin, but that just meant that they had more to talk about when they met up for dinner.

"This is horrible, though..." Sakura muttered as they sat in Toyama Dango, her head dropping to press her forehead against the table they sat at. "I'm almost seventeen years old... I was hoping to at least have a boyfriend by now... But then I find out Sasuke-kun is..."

It seemed like Sakura still couldn't say the word.

"There's more than one boy in Konoha, though," Hinata said softly, smiling at Sakura. Over the last three years, she had really started gaining confidence. She was still as soft-spoken as ever, but now she hardly ever stuttered, and often managed to refrain from mumbling. "You even have two on your team."

"Ugh, don't even mention them!" Sakura whined, straightening up again. "Shino is weird and has all these bugs crawling around inside him, and even if I do think that Kiba is kinda attractive with his wild attitude... he's waaay too dog-like for me..."

"I think you might be a bit too picky," Ino commented, which got her a glare from Sakura.

"Don't be a pot calling a kettle black. I don't see you hooking up with Shikamaru or Chouji..."

"Well, I don't have to. I've already set my sights on someone else," Ino said with a pleased smirk.

"Eh? Who?" Sakura asked, her eyes widening. Hinata was also looking at Ino curiously.

"Well, considering Sasuke-kun is now off-limits, I'm going to go for the second best," Ino said, then added thoughtfully, "Though to be honest, being best and second best kinda varies between talents with those two."

"You don't mean... Naruto?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"Why not? He sure is cute enough," Ino said, a blush springing up on her face. "Probably the only reason why I didn't go for him back at the academy was because he was always so loud, but I bet he's mellowed out now, traveling with Jiraiya-sama. And besides..." Ino looked like she was on the verge of drooling now. "...given how Sasuke has grown more handsome, imagine how much dishier Naruto must be now!"

The three girls took a moment to imagine just how Naruto might have aged in the last three years, before Sakura started rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"You know, now that I think about it, he was kinda cute, wasn't he? And he was easier to talk to than Sasuke-kun, that's for sure."

"Hinata, you sure are lucky, having those two and Kakashi-sensei on your team..." Ino muttered. "Shikamaru and Chouji are great friends and teammates, and Asuma-sensei is a great teacher, but what I wouldn't give for a little eye-candy once in a while..." She looked ready to cry. "What kind of woman would enjoy being around a slacker, a fatty, and a bearded chain-smoker all day?!"

"I take it something happened in your last mission?" Hinata asked, smiling.

"We were supposed to guard this box with some kind of treasure in it as it was transported from Tea Country to Water Country... Then the boat was hit by a rough wave, and the box was knocked into the water..." Ino told them, frowning. "Shikamaru said it would be troublesome to hop in after it, Chouji claimed you shouldn't swim right after eating, and Asuma-sensei didn't want to get his cigarette wet... so they picked me up and threw me in!"

Hinata and Sakura started laughing softly at the indignant and huffing Ino.

"What kind of gentlemen are they, huh?!"

"Well, Naruto hasn't really showed any gentlemanly sides, has he?" Sakura asked with a smirk.

"Oh, that's right, he hasn't..."

"Actually," Hinata spoke up, catching their attention, "while Naruto-kun isn't the traditional type of gentleman, he's always very kind and helpful."

"Ooooh, I did not expect that about him..." Sakura muttered. "Then again, it's stupid to judge someone based on appearances and such. I mean, at first I thought Kiba was just this loud, dead-last showoff, but you know, he's actually really strong, and dangerously loyal to the team."

The three girls leaned back in their seats, thinking about just what kind of hidden sides about their male teammates they might have missed. Then, Sakura leaned forward and looked at Ino again.

"By the way, you may have some competition for Naruto's affection now, even if Hinata's given up on her crush."

"Huh?" Ino blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, on top of training with her, I often help Tsunade-sama with her paperwork, and the other day, I had to update the ninja registry. When I did so, I got a good look at Naruto's file. Most of the information regarding his birth and such was blacked out, but what interested me was the last three years. He's completed twenty-four C-rank missions, sixteen B-rank, seventeen A-rank, and one S-rank since he left! That's more than Sasuke-kun!"

"No way!" Ino exclaimed. "That's-"

"And there's more," Sakura continued, leaning closer. "Tsunade-sama, on top of payment for the missions, has received three request for arranged marriages for Naruto, from no less than three daimyo. Haruna from Vegetable Country, Toki from Bird Country, and that actress and daimyo Kazahana Koyuki..."

"Eeh... A daimyo can have anyone... Why pick Naruto?" Ino muttered, furrowing her brow. "Shouldn't they stick to guys from their own countries? No need to snag our hotties..."

"I think you just answered your own question as to why they'd pick Naruto," Sakura commented, which made all three of them laugh quietly to themselves.

Two pairs of sandaled feet were heard landing outside the shop, then the sandals met the wooden floor inside, and a very familiar voice was heard shouting, "Toyama-san! Dango, dango!"

Three heads snapped toward the entrance, to see that Senju Naruto had entered, a huge grin on his face, with Sasuke in tow, smirking.

"Oho, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun!" Toyama, the elderly owner, said with a bright smile upon seeing the two ninja. "It's been a while since the both of you came here together! The usual?"

"You know it!"

"Coming right up!"

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed, shooting to her feet.

Naruto looked at her, his grin widening.

"Hinata!"

Hinata suddenly went completely red-faced, as she, like Sasuke, suddenly became the victim of Naruto's bear-hug, and was swung around like a ragdoll.

"It's been so damn long!" Naruto sang happily. "It's great to see the old faces again! Yo, Ino, Sakura! You alright?"

"Y-You shouldn't ask us that, Naruto!" Sakura said urgently. "You should ask Hinata!"

"Eh?"

Naruto looked down at the girl in his arms, to see that she was frantically tapping out, her face steadily getting redder.

"Oh, sorry!" Naruto said, letting her go. "I was just so damn happy to see you again. It's not been the same, going on missions without the team..."

"I-It's okay, Naruto-kun..." Hinata wheezed, massaging her sore neck.

"Okay, dango for the boys!" Toyama announced as he approached them, a tray in his hands. On the tray were two clay plates, each with three dango stick on them.

"Thanks, Toyama-san!" Naruto said happily, taking both plates and moving over to the girls' table, setting them down as Sasuke grabbed two nearby chairs and brought them over. "Is it alright if we sit here?"

"Of course, of course!" Ino said, blushing slightly as she and Sakura looked the blond over, taking notice of how he had lost pretty much all of his baby fat now, his face no longer cute, but handsome instead, with a nice tan which looked amazing together with his hair and eye colors.

"Thanks," Naruto said with a grin as he and Sasuke sat down.

"By the way, Hinata," Sasuke muttered, glancing at their teammate. "Have you noticed?"

Hinata had become very good at reading people, especially Sasuke, so she knew exactly what he was grumpy about now.

"Yes, he gained the inch," she said with a pleasant smile.

"Inch?" Ino and Sakura repeated in confusion.

"Sasuke-kun has always been one inch taller than Naruto-kun," Hinata explained. "But it seems they're both the same height now."

"But man, I've missed this place," Naruto said happily as he looked outside.

The Toyama Dango shop was located very close to the east wall, also within walking distance of the hot springs, so there was a very pleasant scent in the air, and it wasn't surrounded by a bunch of buildings, giving it a very serene atmosphere.

"Hey, Naruto," Sasuke said, having already stripped one stick of its dumplings. He held it up with a smirk. "It's been a while."

"Heh..." Naruto grinned as he stripped his stick of its last dumpling and held it up as he swallowed. "You should be careful, though. My power has only grown during my trip."

"What are they doing?" Ino whispered to Hinata.

"Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun like to compete," Hinata explained, pointing to a tree outside the shop. "They tend to compete about who can throw the sticks the best, often either just throwing one as a test of accuracy, or trying to make shapes with several."

"Who wins?" Sakura wanted to know.

"It depends."

"We're tied now," Naruto said, letting them know that he had heard their whispered conversation. "Forty wins, forty losses."

Both friends got up and stood next to each other, looking at the tree. Then, they turned around to face the other way. Sasuke closed his eyes and thought for a while, then opened his eyes and raised the stick in his hand to look at it.

"You saw that bulge in the bark, with the swirl?"

"A meter from the ground, right in the middle?" Naruto asked with a smirk, which was mimicked by Sasuke.

"Center of the swirl."

Naruto nodded. Then the two spun around and flung their needles with impossible speeds. Sasuke had thrown his first, which impacted with their target with dangerous accuracy, hitting the swirl dead-center and burying itself about two inches into the bark. Then came Naruto's stick, hitting Sasuke's and piercing straight through it into the tree, and through it, to embed itself in the wooden fence behind it.

Naruto grinned as he was met with four slack jaws. Even Sasuke was staring with his mouth open as Naruto dusted off his hands and sat down.

"Another draw, I guess."

–

"...and just as he finishes bragging... BOOM! The whole damn castle goes up in one big, beautiful ball of flame!" Naruto told the people around the table, giving a bark of laughter. Sasuke was smirking, and the three girls were listening intently, their mouths slightly agape. It was one thing to read about the missions he'd completed, it was another thing to hear about it, after all.

"I imagine that pissed him off," Sasuke said, which made Naruto snort.

"Unfortunately, no. It depressed him. When he realized that the pervert and I had already figured him out and planned around his own plans, he just broke down."

"Broke down?" Hinata repeated. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, he realized just how screwed he was and, instead of fighting to his last breath, just dropped into a fetal position and started mumbling to himself," Naruto said, scoffing as he attempted to pick his teeth with a dango stick. "It was kinda sad, really, so we knocked him out and brought him to the authorities..."

"Kinda anticlimactic, especially considering how much he was bragging," Sasuke commented. "By the way, Naruto, Konohamaru and his friends are graduating in a couple of days. You should go see them."

"Oh, it's been a while since I saw Saru!" Naruto said, grinning. "I bet he's grown a lot!"

Then, Naruto blinked in realization, and he looked to Sasuke.

"By the way, come with me for a moment."

Without another word, and without waiting for a response, Naruto rose from his chair and grabbed Sasuke's vest, before pulling the Uchiha with him out of the shop, leaving three confused kunoichi behind.

"What the hell?" Sasuke uttered once they were outside, wrenching himself out of Naruto's grip. "What's the matter?"

"How is _it_?" Naruto asked, knowing Sasuke would understand what he meant right away.

"Throbbing with pain occasionally," Sasuke said, crossing his arms. "I don't know why, and neither does Kakashi. We tried to figure it out, but it's not like we're great at Fuuinjutsu."

"But I am," Naruto said, sounding very pleased with himself. "I've been studying the pervert's notes on the Curse Seal, what he's learned from his informants, and what he's learned from studying Anko-san and those four who put up the barrier during the invasion. I think I've managed to create an even better suppressing seal than the one you already have."

"And, naturally, you haven't tried it before, so you want me to be your guinea pig?" Sasuke guessed, which made Naruto blink.

"Wow, how did you know?"

"I know because you're an easy-to-read idiot," Sasuke said simply.

The fist impacted with his face so fast that he hardly even registered it before stars exploded in front of his eyes, and he was sent flying, spinning in the air, before smashing into a fence. He was lodged in the fence, hanging upside-down, groaning, as the three kunoichi came out to see what the commotion was about.

"You haven't changed, you bastard! Insult me, will ya?!" Naruto barked.

"You've gotten faster..." Sasuke muttered with a painful cough. "Stronger, too..."

With that, Sasuke slipped out of the hole in the fence, to collapse unconscious on the ground.

Five hours later found Sasuke sitting shirtless in a healing chamber in Konoha's hospital. Tsunade was there, along with Sakura and Hinata. Naruto was behind Sasuke, drawing sealing formulas on Sasuke's body in his blood, which was seeping from a cut on his palm.

"This feels familiar..." Sasuke muttered, sounding bored.

"It should, considering this seal is based on the one you already have," Naruto said, hard at work.

"Speaking of which, shouldn't you be removing the old one?"

"No, I designed this seal to work on top of the Fuuja Houin," Naruto explained, before cursing, as the cut on his palm had healed for the tenth time since they started, which caused him to slice it open again with a kunai. He waited for more blood to dribble down to the tip of his finger before he continued. "Leaving it intact should only make this seal stronger. Think of it kinda like a treasure in a chest. Instead of moving the treasure, you leave it in, and just put the chest in a bigger chest."

"I'm glad you consider me a treasure," Sasuke quipped. This proved to be a mistake, however, as he was sitting shirtless, and Naruto had an uninjured hand that was perfectly capable of slapping the bare skin on his back.

"Don't move," Naruto ordered as Sasuke flinched from the pain the back-slap had caused. "You don't want me to accidentally seal up your own chakra as well, do you?"

Sasuke blinked.

"You can do that?"

A smirk appeared on Naruto's face as he leaned to the side to look into Sasuke's eyes as the Uchiha's head turned to look at him.

"I guess we'll see," the blond said happily, standing up. "Because it's done."

"Um, I'm having second thoughts about this," Sasuke announced as Naruto started going through handseals. "I don't want to do this anymore. I- Stop that! Godaime, don't let him-"

"Juuni-Ten Fuuin (Twelve-Point Seal)!" Naruto announced as he pressed his hand against the Cursed Seal. Steam started rising from under Naruto's hand as Sasuke gave a sudden yell of pain. His entire body tensed up as the sealing formula came alive and moved up his body to gather under Naruto's palm.

Sasuke showed remarkable restraint during the entire process. The yell he gave at the start was the only sound he gave off, as his mouth snapped shut immediately after, and he spent the entire time gritting his teeth with his eyes closed, enduring the pain as best he could.

Finally, the steam stopped, and Naruto removed his hand. Another seal had formed around and on top of the Fuuja Houin.

"There we go. Other than the pain you're feeling now, you shouldn't be bothered by the Cursed Seal again."

Sasuke grunted, clutching at his shoulder.

"Are you telling me that I'll be stuck with this pain?"

"Not at all," Naruto said with a shake of his head. "It'll pass in a day or two. It's just burrowing down right now to really anchor itself to you. It should be dangerously hard to remove, too."

Sasuke gave another grunt as Hinata hurried over to hand Sasuke his shirt.

"So, still gay?" Naruto asked, which got him a strange look from Sasuke.

"Yes, and happily so."

"Good to know," Naruto said, patting Sasuke on the shoulder. "I'm happy you're comfortable with your choice of lifestyle."

"What's up with you?" Sasuke asked, still staring strangely at Naruto. "You sound like you read that from some kind of book..."

"Oh, yeah, I read a book on tolerance during my training trip," Naruto explained. "And I realized that I haven't exactly been very supportive. The book said that such an attitude could be damaging for your already fragile psyche. So, I just want you to know I'm happy for you."

With that, Naruto walked off to Tsunade, leaving Sasuke to put on his shirt, a barely noticeable pout on his face, and mutter, "I'm not fragile..."

–

'I was once this small?' Naruto thought in surprise as he watched the various Academy students running around outside the place of learning. Obviously, none of them were twelve, since today was graduation day, but still... Naruto had been that tiny at one point in time? No wonder why none of the older teenagers took his threats of beating the crap out of them seriously!

"Oh, Naruto, eh?"

Naruto blinked and turned toward the source of the voice, to see a rather large man with brown hair and a goatee, dressed in the standard Konoha uniform, with a forehead protector that he wore as a bandanna.

"It's been a long time!" the man said, smiling brightly at Naruto, whose eyes widened.

"Yeah, and you haven't changed one bit, Daikoku-sensei."

"But you have, that's for damn sure! You've grown, kid!" Funeno Daikoku said with a laugh. "So, are you looking at any prospective students?"

"Come again?"

"Well, you're certainly powerful enough to be a Jounin, if the rumors are true. I thought you might be checking out the potential," Daikoku said.

"You think I'll make Jounin?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Oh yeah! I always knew you'd go far, kid."

"Really?" Naruto asked with a smirk, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't you once tell me that a no-good punk like me shouldn't even be in the Academy?"

Daikoku laughed at that.

"Yeah, well, that was back when you _were_ a no-good punk who shouldn't even be here, before you and Sasuke became friends. Now you're just a punk, which is good sometimes."

Naruto had to chuckle at that. He couldn't really argue with that. He was a punk most of the time, at least in the eyes of the older generations.

"So then, what are you doing here, if not looking for prospective students?" Daikoku asked.

"Saru is graduating today, and I thought I'd be here to congratulate him," Naruto explained, which made Daikoku blink in confusion.

"Saru?"

"Konohamaru," Naruto clarified.

"Aah. Well, good luck with your career as a Chunnin," Daikoku said, waving as he walked off. "I suspect it will be very short. You'll probably be Jounin when next we meet."

"Good luck handling the brats, Daikoku-sensei."

Naruto stood there for another hour, realizing that he should probably have brought a book or something, before the bell was heard ringing, and a large group of newly graduated Genin spilled out of the doors of the Academy. Many parents had already gathered outside the Academy, and they happily greeted and congratulated their children.

Naruto spotted Konohamaru exiting, along with Udon and Moegi. His two friends waved at him and ran off to their parents, while Konohamaru headed straight for the exit, only to freeze when he saw Naruto grinning at him.

"Yo!" Naruto said, raising his hand in greeting. "Congratulations on graduating, Saru!"

"Naruto-nii-chan!" Konohamaru exclaimed in surprise. "You're back!"

"Sure am! Just in time, too," Naruto said with a grin. "How about some ramen to celebrate, eh?"

"Ooh! Awesome! Nii-chan, you're the best!"

And so, an hour later found Naruto and Konohamaru sitting at Ichiraku Ramen, Konohamaru telling Naruto about everything he had learned during Naruto's trip.

"And this technique, it-" Konohamaru started, but was interrupted by a bop on the head from Naruto.

"Idiot, don't go telling people what your techniques do, even allies, without good reason," the blond chided his somewhat-apprentice. "You never know if you might go up against them in a spar or the Chunnin Exams, so don't go revealing them unless you absolutely have to. Secrecy is a ninja's greatest weapon, didn't you know?"

"I know, I know..." Konohamaru muttered, crossing his arms with a pout. Naruto smiled softly at that, being greatly reminded of himself when he was twelve. Even though Sasuke had beaten secrecy into his head, he had always wanted to show off how great he was.

"I-"

"Oh, this is where you were, Naruto? I should have known."

Naruto's head snapped around to stare at the new arrival, a bright smile appearing on his face.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted, raising his hand in a wave.

Naruto hopped off his stool, grinning, and reached into one of his kunai pouched.

"Oh, good timing! I've got something for ya!"

Kakashi's visible eye widened in utter shock as Naruto fished a book out of his pocket and handed it to his teacher. Not just any book, though... A green book with the shape of a man on the front, sitting in a thinking pose.

"T-This is...!"

"Icha Icha Tactics!" Naruto said, sounding incredibly proud of himself. "I helped co-author it, so I got a couple of copies. Savor that, since it hasn't even been released yet!"

Kakashi was silent as he slowly opened the book, and Naruto thought he could almost hear a choir singing somewhere. Must've been his imagination, though.

"Thank you, Naruto," Kakashi said, closing the book again. "But I didn't come here for this. I've already contacted Sasuke and Hinata. We'll have our first team meeting in three years tomorrow morning at six."

"You mean ten, right?" Naruto asked with a smirk, which got him a chuckle from Kakashi.

"Six, Naruto."

With that, Kakashi disappeared with a puff of smoke.

"Yeah, right... He just got a new Icha Icha. Of course he's gonna be late tomorrow..."

–

Naruto arrived at the training ground two hours late. He was pleased to see Hinata and Sasuke landing in the clearing at the same time. What he wasn't expecting, however, was to find Kakashi leaning against one of the stumps, his arms crossed as he gave his three former Genin stern looks.

"So that's what it feels like..." he muttered.

"Oh, sorry I'm late, sensei!" Naruto said, giving a wave. "You see, a black cat crossed my path, and I had to take the long way around."

"Yeah, sorry," Sasuke said. "I got into a fist fight with an intolerant asswipe, and my clothes were torn, so I had to go back home and replace them."

"I didn't look where I was going," Hinata said softly, smiling. "So I got lost on the road of life."

Kakashi opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it with a snap. He repeated this about four times, then sighed and said, "I don't know whether to be mad or proud..."

Kakashi sighed, then straightened up and turned fully to face his three students.

"Alright, kids, the Godaime wants Team Seven back in action. Now, I already know Sasuke and Hinata's basic skills, but I have no idea how much you have grown, Naruto. So, we're going to spar."

"This will be interesting," Sasuke said to Hinata, who nodded as they both hopped off to sit on two of the stumps.

Kakashi and Naruto moved to the center of the clearing and stood about eighty feet apart. Naruto blinked when he realized something.

"You don't have your book out, sensei. Not gonna read it?"

"Nope. I think I should save the enjoyment for later," Kakashi said as he raised his hand to hook his thumb under his forehead protector. "Actually, for some reason, I get the feeling I should take it a little seriously too."

Kakashi raised his headband to uncover his Sharingan, which made Naruto grin.

"Oh, I get to see it so soon, eh?" he asked, cracking his knuckles. "Well, I'll have to make sure not to disappoint!"

Naruto started going through a chain of seals at an alarming rate, finishing by clapping his hands together.

"Fuuton: Atsudangan (Wind Element: Pressure Bullet)!" he called out, his cheeks puffing out, before he blew an incredibly large ball of compressed air at his teacher, who only had time to go wide-eyed before he had to dodge out of the way. The ball of air tore up the ground as it passed, and when it hit the trees behind Kakashi, it sliced them up, carving a path into the woods.

'Fuuton Ninjutsu?!' Kakashi thought in surprise. 'And he molded the chakra with such ease! Has he discovered an alignment with a third element?'

Kakashi had to leap into the air to dodge another ball of air.

"Don't underestimate me!" he told Naruto, who blew another ball at him. Kakashi flashed through seals as well, finishing in Tiger. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Kakashi brought his hand to his mouth and exhaled a massive ball of fire, which charged straight into the Atsudangan. Instead of exploding as a rookie might have thought, the fireball wasn't even slowed down by the Fuuton jutsu, absorbing it and growing in size as it smashed into the blond Senju.

"You didn't really think I'd believe you'd let yourself get hit by that, did you?" Kakashi asked as he landed, looking around. "Now, where are-"

Kakashi stopped and leapt away as two hands burst out of the ground, grabbing at his ankles. He wasn't given pause, however, as another set of hands came out where he landed. He danced around the clearing as an amazing number of hands came out of the ground trying to catch him.

'When the hell did he have time to create so many Kage Bunshin?' Kakashi thought in surprise, leaping into the air again to avoid yet another set of hands. These hands, however, suddenly turned into wood and extended, stretching up into the air and grabbing Kakashi's ankles. "What?!"

The hands flung him through the air, and another Naruto, no doubt the original, shot out of the ground and delivered a punch into Kakashi's face that sent him rocketing toward the ground, kicking up a massive amount of dust and forming a crater as he landed.

"Heh, Kawarimi, eh?" Naruto asked as he landed. The dust cleared, to show nothing but splinters remaining of the log Kakashi had swapped out with. He turned around and grinned. "Really, sensei? You're hiding underground? That's my domain, you know. I'll give ya to the count of three to come out, before I force you out. One..."

The ground burst behind Naruto, and Kakashi came shooting out of it, crossing the distance between them and grabbing Naruto from behind in a hold.

"I'm good at hiding, Naruto. What you sensed was just a clone."

Naruto grinned.

"I know."

This statement made Kakashi's eyes widen, and he let go of Naruto and jumped back just in time for Naruto to turn into wood, several wooden spikes shooting out of his body.

Naruto shot out of the ground behind Kakashi and rushed at him, attempting to engage him in a Taijutsu fight. Kakashi, however, wouldn't touch that shit with a ten-foot pole.

'He honestly expects me to fight him?' Kakashi thought as he dodged several strikes. 'Those fists are packed with chakra. Just getting grazed means I'm history...'

"Kakashi! Don't be fooled!" Sasuke called from his spot on the stump. "You know how much Naruto loves his clones!"

Kakashi didn't need further warning. His eyes went wide, and he ducked just in time to avoid a punch coming from behind. Naruto's punch connected with his clone, which exploded into splinters.

"Damn it, Sasuke!" Naruto barked at his best friend, who was just smirking at him. "I had him, you know!"

"I don't want the spar to be too short," Sasuke defended. "Kakashi has only just started to learn not to underestimate you. He's going to get serious now."

"Heh, true," Kakashi said with a small chuckle, which made Naruto turn around to face him. "I guess I was still treating you like a wet-behind-the-ears Genin. I'll start getting serious now, alright?"

"You're not serious already?" Naruto asked in surprise, and Kakashi shook his head, which made the blond grin widely. "Maaan! We sure hit the jackpot when it comes to Jounin commanders! I must've faced at least twenty Jounin during my training trip, and none of them have managed to stay awake against me for this long, and now I learn you're not even serious yet!"

"You seem happy, Naruto," Kakashi said with a smile, which only made Naruto grin wider.

"Hell yeah I'm happy! At this power level, that means you're a candidate for the Hokage position! Beating you means I'm one step closer!"

Kakashi chuckled at that and made a 'come on' gesture.

"Well then, make sure to beat me, because I have no interest in the seat!"

Naruto chuckled as he clapped his hands together, before flashing through seals.

"Alright, sensei! Time to learn why I gained the nickname Shizen no Kami (God of Nature) during my travels!"

–

In the Hokage's office, Tsunade suddenly looked up from her paperwork and looked over her shoulder to stare out the window.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune questioned as Tsunade furrowed her brow.

"I just got a strange feeling..." she muttered. "Jiraiya!"

"Eh?!" Jiraiya's head popped up from under the broken window, which had yet to be repaired. "How did you know I was here? Or better yet, how long have you known?"

"Since you first showed up," Tsunade said with a shrug. "I was just enjoying the peace and quiet, so I didn't call out to you."

"That's cold, Tsunade," Jiraiya muttered with a pout. Then, the pout was quickly replaced by a grin. "You can feel it, can't you?"

"Yeah. What is that? It feels like chakra and yet... it's different..."

"That's the thing about Naruto," Jiraiya said as he crossed his arms. "When he gets serious, he can't do stealth for shit. His chakra flares so much that it almost heats up, and the strange feeling you're getting is from that very chakra. It mingles with the earth, and becomes one with it. So it's more reminiscent of Nature Chakra I use in my Senjutsu (Sage Techniques). The kid's probably a natural at that. Then, he tends to do some flashy jutsu in order to scare the shit out of his opponent."

In the distance, the three of them suddenly saw a massive forest shoot up, rising high above the forest surrounding the village. It was massive, too, probably enough to cover the training ground Team Seven was so fond of.

"Like so," Jiraiya said with a gesture for the spontaneous tree-growth. "Naruto is sparring with someone strong, huh?"

"Kakashi said he wanted two days to get a feel for Naruto's abilities, and to get the team reaccustomed to teamwork," Tsunade explained, which made Jiraiya grin again.

"Guess they're both serious now..."

–

It was three hours later that Kakashi sat on the ground, panting heavily with his back against a tree. He was sweaty, dirty, and his clothes had tears in them here and there.

'His power is unnatural... Couple that with his freakish stamina... I can't compete with that... And his elemental affinity is insane. As soon as I try to use one strong against the element he's using, he'll just switch. I can't engage him in Taijutsu, and he dispels any Genjutsu I cast on him...'

Kakashi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

'Calm down... My lack of stamina is my greatest weakness. Can't afford wasting energy on breathing so heavily... Well, at least Naruto is kind enough to give me a breather. I find it hard to believe I'd be able to hide from him, especially in this forest _he_ created... At least I've gotten a couple of hits in myself. My speed is greater than his, that's for damn sure. And I can outsmart him easily enough. The problem is his adaptability... As soon as I get him in a trap, he adapts and adjusts his strategy... No wonder the Senju clan was so feared during the Warring States Period... Naruto is probably on the same level as the Shodai Hokage was at that age, if not stronger...'

Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle as he thought about it.

'And given how Sasuke is probably at the same level Madara was at that age...' He chuckled again. 'Those two are going to be unstoppable on the battlefield if they were together. Damn forces of nature... And if that wasn't enough, Sasuke is aligned with Fire and Lightning. That makes a full set. And I understand Hinata's studies with the Godaime has earned her a massive amount of medical knowledge. Damn, I have a fine team, don't I?'

"Well," Kakashi uttered as he got to his feet, brushing dust off his backside, "I guess it's time to get back to it. Naruto is injured, so it should be a bit easier."

When Kakashi reached what was originally Team Seven's clearing with the three stumps, but which was now a thick forest, he found Naruto sitting on a wooden chair that had seemingly sprouted from the ground. He was panting slightly, and was about as dirty as Kakashi himself.

"Yo," Naruto said, raising his bloodied hand in a wave. "Come out of hiding, did you? All rested up?"

"Yep," Kakashi said with a nod. "Well, not as much as I would have liked, but I thought it'd be best to finish this before you bleed... out..." The cycloptic Jounin went wide-eyed when he saw the tear in the side of Naruto's flak vest. Kakashi had managed to graze him with a Raikiri earlier (used at Naruto's urging, of course), and Naruto had been bleeding heavily, evidenced by how the left leg of Naruto's pants were drenched with blood. But the wound...

It was gone...

"How...?"

"Hm?" Naruto looked down at his non-existent wound. "Oh yeah, it's a technique I developed after reading about Tsunade-baa-chan's Souzou Saisei (Creation Rebirth). It's kind of unrefined right now, so it uses up a lot of chakra, but it's great for wounds that bleed like crazy."

"And here I thought you'd be easier to fight, being injured and all..." Kakashi muttered, sighing deeply. This made Naruto chuckle as he leaned back in his chair.

"On that subject, you look beat, sensei," he commented, whistling. "Maybe we should call it quits for today? As you probably know, I'm ready to fight for another three hours, while you look dead on your feet. Your stamina has always been your greatest weakness, after all."

Kakashi chuckled. "You're probably right, Naruto. In a normal fight, I can go for at least twelve hours, but you sure made me work up a sweat... I'm torn between embarrassment and pride. Sasuke, Hinata!"

The two Chunnin called blurred into view between them. Hinata went wide-eyed when she saw how beat-up Naruto and Kakashi were. Sasuke just looked annoyed, however.

"Damn it, Naruto," he muttered, glaring at the blond. "Because you went overboard, we couldn't watch the show..."

"Heh, sorry," Naruto said, scratching his head.

"Well, that concludes our spar," Kakashi said, panting slightly as he covered his Sharingan again. "Hinata, do you think you could help with my injuries before I continue?"

"Y-Yes, sensei!"

Hinata hurried over, and Naruto frowned, furrowing his brow.

"Oi! You should know you can't hide from me by now!" he called out, and within seconds, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune walked into view. Tsunade and Shizune were looking around in awe, while Jiraiya grinned.

"I wasn't trying to hide, you know. Just waiting for the opportune moment to show up."

"Yeah, right! You three have been watching me for the last hour and a half," Naruto muttered.

"In any case," Tsunade spoke up, looking to Kakashi. "What do you think?"

"Well, he's in excellent shape," Kakashi said, scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed chuckle. "Would've beaten me if we had kept fighting, if only through attrition. More than ready to get back to it, that's for sure."

"Very good," Tsunade said with a nod. "Then Team Seven has permission to return to active duty. Senju Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata! From this moment on, Hatake Kakashi is once more your team leader and commanding officer. Any objections?"

When all three shook their heads, Tsunade looked to Kakashi.

"Then, Kakashi, I'll leave them with you."

"Roger," Kakashi said, nodding as Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shizune blurred away. "Alright, guys, tomorrow we will be doing some teamwork exercises to once more get a feel for each other."

"What?!" Naruto barked, and Kakashi was quick to raise his hands in a placating manner.

"Now, I know you're eager to start doing missions with the team again, but you really put me through the ringer today. I need to recuperate, after all."

"Tch..." Naruto uttered as he crossed his arms. "I'd forgotten how easily you guys get tired."

–

**So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Remember to leave a review!**

**Peace,**

**ZnK**


	12. Chapter 12

**Well, I'm back from Stockholm, and I'm giving you a new chapter. The time between updates will be a few days longer than usual, because I have lost most of my inspiration to write. I will upload all the chapters I have finished, but I don't know how quickly I can keep working on this. You see, yesterday I found out that my mother has died, so I'm feeling kinda bummed and not really up for anything right now. Hopefully it will wear off soon, though.**

**Anyway, I don't want to depress you with my sad news, so without further ado, enjoy the new chapter.**

–

"Hell no!"

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Hinata all tensed up at Naruto's protest as they stood in the mission office, having just been assigned a mission by Tsunade, who immediately glared at him.

"What kind of a response is that, brat?"

"We're a team comprised of a Jounin and three Chunnin," Naruto said, glaring right back. "Don't waste resources assigning us a damn C-rank!"

"As much as I agree with you," Sasuke muttered as he leaned in, "the Godaime can be terrifying if you act like this..."

"Naruto, listen-" Tsunade started, but was interrupted when the doors slammed open.

"T-Trouble, Godaime-sama!" a Chunnin from the Decyphering Corps yelled as she barged into the room.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked, blinking.

"Suna's Kazekage has been taken by an organization called Akatsuki!" the Chunnin exclaimed. "We just received the message!"

"The Kazekage..." Naruto muttered. "Gaara, eh?"

"Right," Tsunade said, closing her eyes in thought. "Well then, Team Kakashi, I'll tell you your new mission! You are to go immediately to Sunagakure no Sato, find out the situation, and relay it to Konoha. After that, follow the orders of Suna and back them up."

"Heh, sounds a bit more interesting than a C-rank, that's for sure!" Naruto said with a grin, to which Sasuke smirked.

"Seems your luck holds up even after all this time," he commented. "When do we leave?"

"ASAP," Tsunade said, and Team Seven nodded, before leaving the mission office.

It was no more than fifteen minutes later that Team Seven stood at the West Gate, ready to head off.

"It's our first mission in a while, and it's an important one," Kakashi said, his hands in his pockets. "Here's hoping it goes well."

"As Kakashi said, it's very important that this mission is a success," Tsunade, standing at the gate with them, said with her arms crossed.

"Don't worry, baa-chan," Naruto said, giving a lazy salute. "We'll get Gaara back."

"Yo, Naruto!" came Jiraiya's voice as the Sannin landed in front of them. "Going on a mission? Tsunade, I have news. Suna's Kazekage-"

"I know, I'm just about to send these brats to get him back," Tsunade interrupted with a gesture for Team Seven. Jiraiya blinked as he looked at them, then walked over to whisper to Tsunade.

"Hm, you do know about the thing between Naruto and Akatsuki, right?"

"He can handle it," Tsunade said firmly.

"I see. Then, one last talk," Jiraiya said as he walked up to Naruto. "Now, brat, I know you're strong and all, but this is Akatsuki you're going to deal with. Strategy has never been your strong point, so don't go rushing in head-first. If not Sasuke, follow Kakashi's lead, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said, waving him off.

"Right, then," Jiraiya said, straightening up. "Kakashi, he's all yours. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Right!" Naruto barked suddenly. "Let's go, then!"

With that, Naruto's legs tensed up. Cracks were heard coming from the ground, before he suddenly disappeared with a crack like thunder, leaving only a cloud of dust behind.

"Heh, man's gotten fast, I admit," Sasuke said with a smirk. "Hinata, sensei, try to keep up."

With that said, Sasuke blurred away as well.

–

Temari, Suna Jounin, was having a rather pleasant walk back to Suna. There wasn't even a gust of wind, the sun was shining, and the trees were providing her with shade whenever she needed it. Plus, she was in allied territory, so she didn't have to worry about an attack.

Therefore, it came as quite the shock to her when she was blown over by the wind pressure caused by a human missile, which came to an immediate stop in front of her. Landing on her bum painfully, Temari glared up at the person, only for her eyes to widen when she saw a head of golden hair, and a silvery fur collar.

"You...!"

"Temari-san!" Senju Naruto said with a grin. "Fancy meeting you here! Good timing, too."

"What are you doing here?"

"You're going too fast," came Uchiha Sasuke's voice as the boy blurred into view next to Naruto. "Save some energy. It's a long trip."

"So," Temari said, pushing herself to her feet, "Handsome and Whiskers together again, eh?"

Naruto blinked at that, then jutted his thumb toward Sasuke.

"He's Whiskers, right?"

"Temari-san," Kakashi said as he landed next to them with Hinata. "Good thing we found you. We have news."

"News?"

"A few hours ago, we got a report in that Suna's Kazekage, Gaara, has been defeated and abducted by Akatsuki," Kakashi said seriously, making Temari's eyes widen. "We have been sent to help find him."

"G-Gaara was...?!" Slowly, Temari's shock melted away, to be replaced by a frown. "I had a bad feeling earlier..."

"It'll take three days to get to Suna from here," Kakashi continued. "Let's hurry."

"Right..."

With that, everyone leapt off.

"Hey, Naruto," Sasuke spoke up as they leapt from tree to tree. "It's true what Jiraiya said to the Hokage. The Akatsuki are after you too. Is it really-"

"Don't you start as well," Naruto interrupted. "They may be after me, they may be stronger than me... Maybe I'm nothing but an ant to them... But they sure as hell won't get me without the fight of their lives! I'm not gonna run from them."

"I suppose that even if you run from them, a confrontation is pretty much inevitable," Kakashi agreed. "But listen to Jiraiya. Don't just rush in if we encounter the Akatsuki. They're S-rank for a reason."

"That's cool, I'm not worried," Naruto said with a small grin, glancing at Sasuke. "After all, I have him to back me up."

Sasuke smirked at that.

"That much faith in me, huh?"

"Not all that much. I just figured that I'll be softening up any enemy we encounter enough for you to finish them off."

Despite the insult, a slight grin appeared on Sasuke's face as he glanced at Naruto.

"Glad to see you haven't lost confidence in yourself."

Naruto's grin faded slightly as his thoughts drifted from his ego.

"This pisses me off, though," he admitted. "If they were after me for me, and Gaara for Gaara, I wouldn't be as pissed. But they want something we really didn't have any control over."

"So?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, to them, Gaara and I are just obstacles in the way of their true goals. They even have to keep us alive to extract the Bijuu," Naruto continued, gritting his teeth. "The thought of that happening to me, no matter how slim the chances are... Fuck that! If they're gonna fight me, they should prepare to fight Senju Naruto, not the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki!"

"**I didn't think I was that bad."**

Naruto blinked, and found himself inside his subconscious, standing in front of Kurama's cage. His body was moving on auto-pilot, considering that he hadn't tripped on a branch and broken his neck.

"What are you on about?"

Behind the bars, Kurama grinned.

"**Aren't you the one who's always going on about how we're in this together? And now you don't consider us partners anymore?"**

"Don't be an idiot," Naruto grumbled. "I just don't like that they focus solely on you. I'm not an obstacle in front of you, you know. I'm a living, breathing person. What would you say if the roles were reversed?"

"**If the roles were reversed, I would have released you from my stomach and eaten you a long time ago, so that wouldn't be an issue,"** Kurama said with a shrug, laying down and grinning wider. **"But, as you said, I'm in this too. If it turns out that you can't defeat your enemy, I'm gonna fight to survive, and I don't care if you survive along with me."**

"Same old story," Naruto said with a small smirk. "You may talk like that, but we both know I've grown on you."

Kurama just scoffed and looked away.

"...ruto!"

In the real world, Naruto blinked and looked to Sasuke.

"Sorry, I was talking to Kurama. What is it?"

"Hinata was asking you a question."

Naruto looked to the third member of their team, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you need, Hinata?"

Hinata giggled at that.

"It's a coincidence, really. I was just saying that I've read about Jinchuuriki being able to communicate with the demons they hold, and I was asking if it was true. I guess you just answered that."

"Yeah, I can. But he's a grumpy bastard most of the time, like I've just woken him from an awesome nap."

–

Gaara's brother, Kankuro, had apparently attempted to stop the Akatsuki, and had been poisoned by the famous Suna puppeteer Akasuna no Sasori. That was why Team Seven was now standing in an emergency room with several Suna shinobi, including two old and very respected retired ninja, one of whom was the infamous Chiyo, the grandmother of Sasori.

"Man, our girl's grown on us," Naruto said, standing with his arms crossed as he watched Hinata treat Kankuro with an incredible amount of skill, putting a cut in his side and pulling the poison out of his body with her chakra.

"This must come as a big surprise to you, since you've been gone for so long, but I've watched her grow, so I'm not too shocked," Sasuke said, also crossing his arms. "She's treated my injuries more than once."

"Your injuries?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Both from missions and from sparring with Kakashi. He's not you, but he can still give me a good beating sometimes," Sasuke said with a shrug. "Even though he easily gets tired, and has to spend a few days recovering in the hospital after he's fought me."

"You know, I'm standing right here," Kakashi muttered with a frown hidden behind his mask. "How about some respect for your teacher?"

"I did say you can give me a beating, didn't I?"

"Well, I'm back now, so now you can look forward to taking a beating without the satisfaction of putting your opponent in the hospital doing so," Naruto said, a grin spreading on his face. "You'll have to live with getting the crap beaten out of you without putting so much as a scratch on me."

Hinata exhaled slowly as she healed the cuts in Kankuro's body, before smiling softly at everyone.

"He should be alright now. Um, I removed all the poison from his body. But... if we're going up against the creator of it... I will need some time to make an antidote."

Chiyo sighed heavily at that.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to be the one to show you to the greenhouse."

"In the meantime, there's something I would like to ask," Kakashi said, looking to Baki, who was also in the room. "What came of the pursuit of the Akatsuki after the attack?"

"Kankuro went after them alone," Baki said grimly. "There were no others."

"Then, have we completely lost them?"

"Yes... we have..."

"Hm, well, could you please guide me to where Kankuro-kun was fighting?" Kakashi said. "Though I might not seem it, I am an expert at pursuit. Even if a small amount of their scent is left behind-"

"That is... not necessary..." came a pained voice, making everyone turn to look at Kankuro, who was awake and slowly sitting up. "There are two enemies. One abducted Gaara, you should be able to follow Gaara's scent. Even assuming they split up, the other caught a bit of their clothing on Karasu's hand."

"Well then, no time to just sit around!" Naruto said, crossing his arms. "Let's go, boys and girls!"

"Before that," Kakashi said, looking to Kankuro. "May we hear more about Akatsuki, please?"

So, an hour later they were ready to head out. Hinata had made three antidotes against Sasori's poison, so they were set on that front. Naruto could heal quickly, especially with Kurama helping him, but he had no idea how he'd do against a poison that only someone on Tsunade's level could heal.

"I'm going too!" came Temari's voice as she approached Team Seven when they got ready to leave.

"Temari!" came Chiyo's ancient voice from above, making them look up to see the old woman standing on the village wall. "Stay here and work on the defense of the country border. From the shinobi of Suna, I am more than enough!"

"But, Chiyo-baasama!"

"Don't treat me like an old woman!" Chiyo barked, jumping off the wall, much to everyone's shock. Even more surprising was when she landed with a thump, but still looked up with a surprisingly calm look on her face. "I've wanted to give my cute grandson some love for a while now..."

"Right, then, let's head off!" Naruto said. "Let's not waste any more time! If you're gonna dawdle, Sasuke and I will scout ahead!"

With that, without waiting for the go-ahead, Naruto dashed off. Sasuke smirked to himself.

"True, no time like the present," he said, before dashing off as well.

The Uchiha quickly caught up with Naruto, having always been faster than him if pushed.

"So, what have you got?"

"It's like Gaara's leaking," Naruto said as they ran. "I don't know if it was intentional or not, but he's left a chakra trail. Not his own, but the Shukaku's."

"You didn't fight it at the Chunnin Exams," Sasuke commented. "How do you know what it feels like?"

"Please, that chakra could be felt from miles away back then. Besides, I've met Gaara a few times in my travels. He's been helping me handle Kurama's chakra."

"You've become friends?" Sasuke asked in surprise.

"Well... Not really friends, I think. Well, maybe, I don't know. Not like you and me, but still, I'd count on him in a pinch," Naruto explained with a shrug, which made Sasuke frown.

"You know, you should think about these things a bit harder..."

"I have other things on my mind right now."

–

Sasuke hummed to himself. They had been running for near a day straight now, only stopping to rest twice, and that was only five-minute breaks.

"Think we should wait for Kakashi and the others to catch up?"

"I think we can handle any threat that shows up," Naruto said confidently, which made Sasuke chuckle.

"Are you saying that because you actually believe that, or because you _want_ to believe that?"

"I believe it," Naruto confirmed. "In any case, the others are just about an hour behind us. If whoever we encounter becomes too much, we can hold them off for at least that long until backup shows up."

"You're actually thinking ahead?" Sasuke asked in surprise. "Wow, that training trip was good for-"

"Hold it, someone's up ahead!" Naruto barked suddenly as they reached a clearing, coming to a stop. "You know, I sometimes think I have too big a mouth..."

Sasuke didn't respond. Instead, he had just settled for glaring at the person on the other side of the clearing.

With his Akatsuki robe billowing in the wind, Uchiha Itachi was giving the duo his usual emotionless stare, his Sharingan blazing as always.

"Uchiha... Itachi!" Sasuke growled out, his rage evident to everyone.

"Keep your eyes open, Sasuke," Naruto muttered, narrowing his eyes. "Something is off here..."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, he doesn't have nearly as much chakra as he did three years ago," Naruto explained. "He looks and feels real enough, but I don't think this is the real thing. I can't explain it, because it doesn't feel like a clone..."

"Henge, then?"

"No, the chakra is his. This is Uchiha Itachi, yet it isn't."

"It's been a while, Naruto-kun, Sasuke," Itachi said before Sasuke could respond to that enigmatic statement.

"Don't look into his eyes," Sasuke said as his Sharingan flared to life.

"You don't have to tell me that," Naruto muttered, keeping his gaze fixed on Itachi's feet. "I've fought you enough times to know that."

"Naruto, I don't care if you fight alongside me. I've come to terms with that possibility, but the killing blow is mine," Sasuke said, feeling confident enough to glance at Naruto, knowing that the blond would warn him if Itachi decided to move.

"A bit early for that, don't you think?" Naruto muttered. "Let's hold off on arguing about the killing blow until he's down."

Slowly, Itachi raised his hand and pointed at Naruto.

"I'll kindly ask you to come with me, Naruto-kun."

Naruto's eyes widened at that, and he immediately put his hands in a Ram seal.

"Kai!"

The Genjutsu that had started weaving around Naruto was suddenly dispelled, and the blond gritted his teeth.

"Sasuke!"

"Yeah!"

Sasuke rushed forward, drawing his sword and lighting it on fire as he reached Itachi, swiping at his older brother, who dodged with remarkable ease. He didn't let up, however, and came at Itachi with swing after swing, never giving him a moment to breathe.

Finally, Itachi played right into Sasuke's hands, leaping up into the air to avoid his sword and going through a set of handseals. He was surprised, however, when he saw Sasuke look up at him with a smirk. His eyes widened in realization when a shadow was cast on his face, and he looked up to see Naruto above him, leg raised, his heel coming down toward Itachi at an alarming speed.

"Gotcha!" Naruto barked as his heel impacted with Itachi's face and sent him rocketing to the ground, only to frown immediately as he landed next to Sasuke. "Damn, Kawarimi..."

"Sense him?"

"His chakra is all over the place," Naruto muttered, still frowning. "It's hard to get a fix on him..."

"Back-to-back."

Naruto nodded and turned, putting his back against Sasuke's to make sure they had a three hundred and sixty degrees visual, and that no one would get between them.

The blond Senju's brow furrowed in concentration as he sharpened his senses, trying to detect the source of the chakra flooding the area, only for his eyes to widen when he finally detected it.

"Sasuke, jump!"

The three years apart hadn't affected their teamwork in the slightest, as both teens leapt into the air at exactly the same time, and Sasuke knew exactly what Naruto was going to do, because his arms reached back and wrapped around Naruto's midsection as the blond went through handseals.

"Suiton: Suikyuu no Jutsu (Water Element: Water Sphere Technique)!"

Naruto spat out a large amount of water, which formed a sphere around him and Sasuke just as the ground underneath them exploded, a massive fireball bursting out of it and heading straight for them.

The fireball smashed into the water sphere and launched them higher into the air. The water steamed from the heat, but the fire didn't break through. Still, though, Naruto had to admit that Itachi had packed an amazing amount of chakra into that fireball...

"Alright, Naruto!" Sasuke said once the fire died down, and the water sphere disappeared, to show Itachi standing in a crater beneath them. Sasuke released Naruto and pulled himself down, flipping in the air so that he planted his feet against Naruto's, his sword catching on fire again. "Let's do this!"

"Right!" Naruto said, his legs tensing up. He blew a large amount of air out of his mouth, which enveloped Sasuke's sword, strengthening the flames, before he pushed off, sending Sasuke rocketing toward Itachi, whose eyes widened.

"Katon: Entei Tou (Fire Element: Flame Emperor's Blade)!" Sasuke called out as he slashed at Itachi. The slash sent a massive arch of intense fire down at the renegade Uchiha, slicing straight through him and leaving a massive gash in the earth, about ninety feet long. Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Another Kawarimi!"

In the air, Naruto created a clone and used it as a springboard to send himself shooting down toward the earth, rearing his fist back.

"I got him!" he exclaimed, slamming his fist down into the ground and shattering it in an eighty-foot radius, the shockwave sending Sasuke stumbling.

Beneath Naruto was a visibly surprised Itachi, who had been hiding undergound. The surprise didn't last long however, as his eyes locked with Naruto.

"Got you," he said softly, making Naruto's eyes widen as Itachi's eyes changed shape, the tomoes merging to form a three-point shuriken shape.

All it took was a blink of the eye for the world around Naruto to change. Everything turned black, save for the sky, which turned a blood red, a black moon high in the sky. Before Naruto could react, wooden poles shot out of the ground behind him, sprouting chains that wrapped around his wrists and pulled him into them.

"Welcome to the world of Tsukuyomi," came Itachi's voice as the Uchiha walked around Naruto to stand in front of him. He, like the rest of the world, was black, his features outlined in white. "Space and time are under my control in this world. In here, I am God. There is no escaping this."

"You bastard..." Naruto growled, straining against the chains. To his amazement, they didn't break.

"This is just an illusion, Naruto-kun. In here, you do not possess the great strength you have in the real world."

"Well then..." Naruto said, a small grin appearing on his face. "I'll just have to wait for Sasuke to break it, won't I?"

"Sasuke has become very strong, not to mention fast," Itachi admitted, nodding slowly as a katan formed in his hand. "However, I can torture you for three days in here, and not even a second will pass in the real world. We'll have plenty of time before Sasuke reaches us."

Itachi took a step toward Naruto, who tensed up as the Uchiha raised the katana.

"Now, for the next seventy-two hours, you will be continuously stabbed by this katana."

Itachi reared his arm back, but then suddenly stopped when the world was flooded by an intense chakra. The world around them changed color, being flooded with a fiery orange.

"What the...?" Itachi mumbled softly, looking behind him, only for his eyes to widen when a figure took shape. It was a massive orange fox, standing just a few yards away from him, its nine tails swirling behind it. It lowered its massive head to glare at Itachi.

"**You're a powerful Uchiha, but you have clearly never faced a Jinchuuriki before, have you?"** Kurama growled out, which made Naruto grin.

"Man, your timing is amazing, Kurama!" he said happily.

"Clearly not," Itachi said, ignoring Naruto. "But I do know the power of the Sharingan over the Bijuu."

Itachi was obviously surprised when Kurama didn't obey his mental commands upon seeing the blazing Sharingan, but instead simply grinned at the Uchiha.

"**Usually, that would probably work,"** Kurama admitted. **"Those accursed eyes are powerful, no doubt. So, I guess this is one time I am actually grateful to have a Senju as a host."**

Kurama grinned wider and raised his massive paw, then sent it crashing down on Itachi.

Naruto blinked, and suddenly found himself in the real world again, staring at a surprised Itachi. Taking advantage of this, Naruto formed a handseal, and a wooden clone sprouted from his body, launching itself at Itachi and wrapping its arms around him.

"Sasuke, do it!" Naruto barked leaping away as Sasuke came charging at them, a Chidori chirping in his hand.

"You don't have to tell me!" Sasuke said, flashing forward and slamming his hand into Naruto's clone's back, piercing right through it and into Itachi, whose eyes widened in both surprise and pain.

"Can't be this easy," Sasuke said, staring at the pained Itachi. "Naruto, look around for the real one!"

Naruto formed a half-Ram seal and concentrated, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"From what I can sense, it was this easy. I can't feel him," he admitted as Itachi's body slackened, held up only by Naruto's now dead Moku Bunshin.

"Still, something doesn't feel right..." Sasuke muttered as his Chidori died down, and he pulled his hand out, only for his eyes to widen. "This is...!"

"What?" Naruto asked, walking over to Sasuke, to go wide-eyed as well.

Itachi's body was morphing before their eyes. His clothes didn't change, but his hairstyle and facial features changed to someone completely different, a man with a small beard on his chin.

"That's not Itachi..." Sasuke muttered, narrowing his eyes. "What's your analysis?"

"Like I said, this felt wrong from the start. He didn't have as much chakra as Itachi usually did, but he had Itachi's techniques, and could even use the Sharingan..." Naruto muttered, frowning and shaking his head. "I can't make heads or tails of it... It's like someone put a third of Itachi's chakra into this body to make... I don't know, some kind of living clone, or something..."

"But that's not possible," Sasuke said. "The only technique that could possibly be similar would be the Edo Tensei, but this was no Edo Tensei."

"And yet we're looking at a real human body that had been turned into some kind of clone..." Naruto said, none of his usual joking attitude remaining. "Whoever did this... he's good..."

"And this guy was no doubt sent to delay us," Sasuke said, perking up. "We don't have time to waste here. We can theorize on the way."

"Yeah."

The two jumped away, leaving the body there. At least it could be used as a marker for Kakashi and the others to follow.

"I need to talk to Kurama," Naruto said as they ran and blinked, before suddenly finding himself in front of Kurama's cage once more. "So, what was that about?"

The fox inside the cage was laying down with his eyes closed. One of the eyes slowly opened to glance at Naruto.

"**What do you mean?"**

"How could you pop up inside the Tsukuyomi? How could you resist the Sharingan?" Naruto wanted to know, which made Kurama chuckle.

"**As I told the Uchiha, I guess I'm grateful to have a Senju host,"** the fox said, sitting up and grinning down at Naruto. **"And I guess I'm a bit grateful to your old man as well."**

"Meaning?"

"**Meaning, the seal holding me was altered by the Yondaime,"** Kurama explained. **"A sliver of my chakra is always floating into your own chakra system, probably as a way to teach you how to instinctively get used to and manipulate my chakra, I don't know. In any case, that is a two-way opening, you know. The Yondaime didn't account for it, of course, but it's there."**

Naruto's eyes widened in realization.

"You mean that some of my chakra is mingling with yours?"

"**Yes,"** Kurama said with a nod. **"Our chakras have bonded on some levels. While this will make it easier for you to control my chakra, it will also make it easier for me to take over your body, should you ever be foolish enough to let me out of here. Back on topic, the only one who has been able to control me, other than an Uchiha, has been the Shodai Hokage. His chakra is potent, and he has always been able to resist the Sharingan, no matter how powerful. That resistance has been passed on to me, thanks to you."**

"Then how come I couldn't resist the Sharingan?" Naruto asked, furrowing his brow.

"**I don't know,"** Kurama said with a shrug as he lay down again. **"You expect me to know everything? I'm a mass of chakra, not a Ninjutsu expert. I know things only from what I have experienced. I guess you just weren't mentally prepared to face the Mangekyou Sharingan."**

A grin once more spread on Kurama's face as he sneered at Naruto.

"**Or you're just too damn retarded to ever be able to put up a defense against it."**

"Hey!" Naruto barked, flipping the fox off. "If it wasn't for the fact that I'm grateful you saved me, I'd come in there and kick your ass for that!"

Kurama grinned wider.

"**Bring it, brat."**

"Why, you...!"

Naruto gritted his teeth, but then calmed down and turned his back on Kurama, a small grin appearing on his face.

"Hey, thanks, Kurama."

Kurama just grunted in response.

Naruto's consciousness returned to the real world, and he couldn't help but smirk to himself, something Sasuke didn't fail to notice.

"What are you so happy about?"

"Nothing, I just realized that I've got another advantage over you."

"Hey..." Sasuke muttered, frowning. "Is the fox helping you?"

"You could say that."

"Anything he can do to help you isn't an advantage of yours. Don't take credit for stuff he does."

Naruto laughed. "Are you saying that because you don't want me to be more awesome than I already am, or because you want to give Kurama credit where credit is due?"

Sasuke's frown deepened, and he refrained from answering, instead simply looking ahead and speeding up, which made Naruto laugh again.

–

The duo reached their goal, a wide river with a cave that had been blocked off by a massive boulder. Naruto's senses told him that Gaara, along with two massive chakra sources were behind the boulder. Also in there was a large gathering of chakra, including Itachi's, but it was like their bodies weren't their, only their chakra.

"So, we have no idea what's behind this?" Sasuke concluded after hearing Naruto's report.

"We have some idea. We know that only two shinobi are in there in person," Naruto said with a shrug as he looked up at the seal that had been placed on the boulder. "That's a five-point barrier seal. Pretty sophisticated stuff."

"Naruto-kun! Sasuke-kun!"

The two looked over their shoulders to see Team Gai landing on the river, much to their surprise. Gai was grinning widely at them, Pakkun sitting on his shoulder.

"Yo, Gai-sensei," Naruto said, raising his hand in greeting.

"Where's Kakashi?" Gai asked.

"We ran ahead. He'll be here with the others soon," Sasuke said. "It's a good thing you showed up, though. We need help taking down this barrier."

"And how do we do that?" Gai asked, looking to Naruto.

"A seal like this is anchored by five seal tags, with four of them anchoring this one to the spot," Naruto said as he looked up at the seal again. "I don't see any booby traps, so removing it should be easy, provided the anchors are removed at the same time."

"But where are the other tags, then?" Tenten asked, and Sasuke glanced at Neji.

"Hey, Neji, could you have a look?"

"Right," Neji said as his Byakugan flared to life. He appeared to be looking straight ahead, but anyone who knew the Byakugan would know that he was looking everywhere _but_ straight ahead. "Found them. On top of a rock about five hundred meters north-east of here... On the trunk of a tree, on a river bank, three hundred and fifty meters south-east... On a wall of rock about six hundred and fifty meters north-west... And inside a grove about eight hundred meters south-west."

"Right," Gai said, taking off his backpack and fishing out a wireless radio from it. "If it's that range, we'll use these radios. While we're taking Neji's directions, we can keep in communication, and we'll find the locations of the tags."

As Team Gai was putting on the radios, three people landed on the river next to them. Kakashi, Hinata, and Chiyo had finally arrived.

"Took you long enough," Naruto said with a smirk.

"You didn't get here as fast as I'd expected," Kakashi said softly. "Ran into a bit of trouble on the way?"

"Yeah," Naruto said with a nod.

"Anyway," Gai said, having put on his radio, "speed-wise, my team is faster. The frequency is One-Seven-Four. Wait for our signal!"

"Right," Kakashi said, fishing a wireless radio out of his kunai pouch. "And while we're waiting, tell me what you feel inside, Naruto."

"Only two shinobi now," Naruto said as Team Gai dashed off. "Earlier, there were seven more in there, but they were just faint signals. They're gone now, though. And Gaara..."

Naruto trailed off, and Sasuke glanced at him.

"Can't sense him?"

"No..."

"Okay," Kakashi said softly, leaping up onto the stone. "When I remove this seal, we'll break in with a button-hook entry. Naruto, you breach."

Naruto nodded and got into position in front of the boulder, while Sasuke and Hinata took their place on one side, and Chiyo took her place on the other side.

"Ready..." Kakashi muttered, gripping the seal. "Go!"

He ripped it off, and Naruto charged forward, rearing his fist back before smashing it into the boulder, which exploded into tiny pieces. Kakashi made a hand signal, and the five of them rushed in, Chiyo and Kakashi hugging the wall to the left, and Team Seven hugging the wall to the right, keeping their backs safe as they surveyed the cave.

The two Akatsuki members were at the back of the cave. A young-looking blond man was sitting on the unmoving body of Gaara, with a large bird that appeared to be made out of clay standing next to him. The other Akatsuki member was a large hunched-over man whose hair had been styled into cornrows. Half his face had been covered by a cloth mask, the bottom of which had been torn off, probably by Kankuro's puppet.

"Well then," the blond man said with a smirk. "Which of you is the Jinchuuriki, I wonder, hn..."

"Naruto, seal their escape path," Kakashi ordered, to which Naruto nodded and flashed through handseals, ending in Snake.

The cave started shaking as thick wooden poles burst out of the ground around the walls, stretching upward and forming a cage that spanned the entire cave.

"Mokuton Ninjutsu?" the blond spoke, sounding a bit intrigued, judging by the smile on his face. "I guess he's the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, then, hn."

"Chiyo-baasama?" Kakashi muttered, glancing at Chiyo.

"That is not Sasori's real body," Chiyo said, looking grim. "It's just a puppet. He is hiding inside it."

This made everyone's eyes widen. Puppeteering wasn't too common, but even so, none of them had ever heard of a puppeteer hiding inside their puppet.

"Because they're open to attack when controlling their puppets, puppeteers are weak in close combat. So, that puppet circumvents that weakness. The puppet becomes armor, and at the same time a weapon. That's Sasori's favorite puppet, Hiruko. I know it well."

"Then..." Hinata mumbled nervously. "Then what should we do?"

"First off, we have to get Sasori out of Hiruko if we want to be able to do anything. The most terrifying thing about the puppets are the unpredictable 'traps', mechanisms that can launch from anywhere."

"And in all likelihood, they're all poisoned, right?" Sasuke surmised, which made the blond laugh.

"Sasori-no-danna, they sure know a lot about you, don't they? Think I'm as famous?"

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, glancing at Kakashi, who was narrowing his eyes at the blond Akatsuki member.

"Never seen him before," the cyclops concluded, making the blond twitch.

"Hey! You really haven't heard of me?! You have no sense of art then, hn! I'm Deidara! Deidara, damn it!"

"Never seen him, but I've heard of him," Kakashi said. "He's from Iwa. From Kankuro's report, I guess he's the one who uses explosives."

"Alright, how are we going to do this?" Sasuke asked, drawing his sword.

"Split them up," Kakashi said. "Sasuke, you're with me. Hinata, Naruto, follow Chiyo-baasama's lead."

"Well then, I guess I'll leave the Jinchuuriki to you, danna, hn," Deidara said, jumping up on his bird. His hand came out of his sleeve, holding what looked like a miniature clay bird, identical to the one he was standing on. The bird moved on its own, taking flight and shooting straight past the Konoha shinobi into the wooden bars blocking the entrance. When it impacted, it exploded, blowing a massive hole in the wooden cage.

"It's for the best, I suppose," Sasuke concluded as the giant clay bird took flight, before shooting off out of the cave, with Kakashi and Sasuke giving chase.

Now that they were left alone, Sasori gave a chuckle.

"It's a good thing there are three of you. Even if I have to leave the Jinchuuriki alive, the other two of you will put my puppet collection to an even three hundred!"

Sasori reached up and pulled his cloak off, revealing his body. He was standing on all fours, his back covered by a thick shield in the shape of some kind of oni (demon), with a long bladed tail sticking out of its mouth. On his left arm, he had some kind of thick cylindrical gauntlet with several rods sticking out of it. Chiyo hummed at the sight.

"It would seem the shape is slightly different from the Hiruko I knew long ago," she said grimly. "Firstly, that shell on his back wasn't there before. And that must have strengthened his defense. I've also never seen that left hand before... Furthermore, he might have redesigned his most important traps."

"So, we're running in blind is what you're saying?" Naruto muttered, sighing. "Nothing's ever easy, is it?"

"W-What should we do?" Hinata mumbled.

"To defeat Sasori, we first have to take out Hiruko. While neither you nor I have the power needed to destroy it, Naruto-kun does."

"Plus, I have a bit of a resistance against poisons, and I heal pretty fast," Naruto confirmed, nodding. "I'll get close to him and smash that Hiruko thing, but it'll happen fast, and I don't have a Sharingan to help me react, so I'll need you two to play some interference. I know how much puppeteers like senbons, and I don't really feel like getting turned into a pincushion."

"I'll help where I can with the Juuken, Naruto-kun," Hinata said softly, to which Naruto nodded. Then, however, he perked up and looked down at himself, then at Chiyo.

"Oh, so that's your plan, old lady?"

"It's what I'm here for," she said with a nod.

"Let's go, then!"

With that, Naruto dashed forward. Sasori pulled the mask off his face, opening his puppet maw and firing a large amount of senbon at Naruto. The blond, hwoever, fluidly dodged the needles with an unusual grace. Hinata watched in surprise as Naruto dodged and dodged, but when she activated her Byakugan, her eyes widened.

'Chiyo-baasama is controlling Naruto-kun's movements with chakra strings? That's right, if anyone would know exactly how to dodge Sasori's attacks, it would be his grandmother...'

Suddenly, Sasori raised his left hand and launched the massive gauntlet at Naruto. Hinata's eyes widened once more when she saw what was inside the gauntlet.

"Naruto-kun, Chiyo-baasama, look out!" she yelled out, rushing forward as all the rods in the gauntlet broke and launched a massive amount of senbons in all directions. Hinata got between Naruto and Chiyo and started spinning on the spot. "Kaiten!"

A dome of chakra formed around her, deflecting each and every senbon heading for them.

"Woah!" Naruto barked with an amazed smile on his face. "You learned a new move, Hinata!"

Sasori's eyes were wide in surprise as Naruto charged past Hinata, heading straight for him. His tails raised into the air, rearing back to pierce Naruto, but the blond flashed through seals, and Sasori's surprise increased when two wooden poles shot out of the ground to wrap around the tail, keeping it in place.

"Wha-?!"

"GOTCHA!" Naruto roared as he reached the puppeteer, who looked away from the wooden poles in time to catch a massive punch to the face, which completely smashed the puppet to bits and shattered the ground underneath it from the force.

A shape came flying out of the smashed Hiruko, wearing a cloak that hid his features from view. As he landed, however, one could easily tell that he was short, about the height of a fourteen-year old.

"Of course, that's my grandmother," came a youthful, monotone voice from within the cloak. "No wonder why even that boy was able to avoid my attacks. You saw all of my attacks, using chakra strings to control the boy. Not only that, you cleverly put strings on Hiruko's tail, signaling the boy where to attack in order to restrain it..."

"You've worked this out quite well," Chiyo said, smiling proudly.

"Well, of course," the boy said, grabbing his cloak. "Who was it that taught me to play with puppets? No one else, but you."

"Yes... Well, we're done playing for today."

Sasori pulled off his cloak, revealing a very young-looking boy garbed in Akatsuki robes, with red hair and a surprisingly gentle face.

"Do you really think it will be that easy, Chiyo-baasama?"

"The hell...?" Naruto muttered, narrowing his eyes. "Hinata! Take a look at him!"

Hinata looked intently at Sasori, her eyes widening in surprise.

"This is impossible!" she exclaimed. "He has a chakra center, but his chakra points are gone! He's held together by chakra strings!"

Sasori didn't respond to this revelation. Instead, he pulled out a scroll and held it out, letting it roll open to reveal the kanji for 'Three' written on it.

"I'll show you what I brought along. Killing him for my collection gave me a hard time indeed... That's why I like him the best."

There was an explosion of smoke, and when it cleared, everyone went wide-eyed at the sight, seeing a puppet-version of a person Naruto and Hinata had only seen in old Bingo books.

The Sandaime Kazekage of the Iron Sand...

"The Sandaime...?" Naruto muttered, tensing up.

"It's been over ten years since the Sandaime suddenly disappeared from the village..." Chiyo muttered grimly. "Sasori, you...!"

"For a retired old woman near death, you're still quite good," Sasori remarked.

"Even retired and near death, I'll still take action! I've too many regrets to die yet." Chiyo sighed. "My grandson... You've not only fallen to the level of a mere criminal, but you've betrayed your village, and gone after the Kazekage three times!"

"Three times?" Hinata repeated in surprise.

"It was Orochimaru who killed the Yondaime Kazekage, Gaara's father, but it was this one who guided him. And this time with Gaara... Also, even the Sandaime..."

"Hey, hey, I don't know about the Yondaime," Sasori defended. "It was my subordinate who guided him. Indeed, I was originally partnered with Orochimaru in Akatsuki, so we did many things... but I had nothing to do with the Yondaime. Now, let us begin."

With that, Sasori launched the Sandaime at Chiyo and Hinata.

'He's fast!' Hinata thought in surprise as a lage amount of blades extended from the Kazekage's right sleeve, heading straight for her. 'I don't have time to start the Kaiten!'

The blades came closer and closer to Hinata, almost in slow motion. When they were an inch away from her face, however, a sandal was planted on the Kazekage's arm, belonging to none other than Naruto, who kicked the arm away, then spun in the air and landed a heel kick on the Kazekage's cheek, sending the puppet flying back.

"Ouch..." Naruto muttered as he landed, rubbing his heel into the dirt. "That kinda hurt..."

"The Sandaime Kazekage is a human puppet, Naruto!" Chiyo called. "It has all the abilities of the original!"

"What?!" Naruto barked, wide-eyed. "Are you telling me he can use the Iron Sand?!" He scoffed and reached down, rubbing his heel. "No wonder his face is so hard..."

"Hinata, you're uniquely suited to dismantle this puppet," Chiyo said seriously. "If you can break the chakra connection between the joints, and cut the strings holding it, it will become useless. It can only use the Iron Sand as long as it's under Sasori's control."

"You're operating under the assumption that I will let you destroy it," Sasori said as a metallic sand started pouring out of the Kazekage's mouth, swirling around it like clouds of steel dust. Sasori made a few gestures with his hands, and the Iron Sand formed into hundreds of tiny projectiles, which all shot off toward Naruto, Hinata, and Chiyo.

"Doton: Doryuuheki!" Naruto called out, slamming his palms into the ground. A massive wall of earth rose up between them and Sasori, and hundreds of thumps were heard as the iron projectiles impacted with it. Behind it, Naruto's eyes widened as he flashed through seals. "Shit! Again!"

Once more, he slammed his hands into the ground, causing another wall to rise up behind the first one, just in time for several of the projectiles to break through, slamming into the second wall.

"Those are some sharp attacks..." Naruto muttered, shaking his head in amazement.

"Naruto-kun! It's still coming!" Hinata yelled suddenly, making Naruto's eyes widen as he looked up, to see the sand welling over the rock wall. He made to dodge, but was shocked to find his feet stuck to the ground. Looking down, he saw that ropes of iron sand was wrapped around his ankles, anchoring him to the ground.

"What the hell?! When did...?!" Naruto barked, only for his eyes to widen. 'When I kicked it, did it attach its sand to me back then?!'

Gritting his teeth, Naruto slammed his hands together and flashed through seals.

"Mokuton...!"

A massive cloud of dust was kicked up when the heavy iron sand crashed down onto Naruto.

"NARUTO-KUN!" Hinata screamed in shock.

The earth walls crumbled, revealing the smirking Sasori behind them.

"How cute," he said softly as the pile of iron sand rolled off slightly to reveal a wooden dome covering the blond. "However, it's not enough to protect against this."

The Kazekage's hand raised, and its fist clenched. The iron sand wrapped around the wood dome and constricted, easily crushing it and anything inside, just like Gaara's Sabaku Sousou (Desert Funeral). Sasori's brow furrowed, however.

"What...?"

The ground underneath the Kazekage burst, and out came Naruto, his fist clenched. The air around his fist seemed to be distorting from the amount of chakra packed into it.

"Take this!"

The punch that impacted with the puppet packed enough force in it to send a shockwave through the air that shook the entire cave, making pieces of stone break off from the ceiling and shaking plenty of dust from it. The Kazekage puppet exploded into hundreds of tiny bits, Sasori's eyes widening at the sight.

"When did he...?!" His gaze went toward where he had crushed the wooden dome, to see nothing but splinters in a pile. "Was it a clone from the start?"

Hinata and Chiyo both breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Naruto standing, appearing to be fine. Sasori noticed this, and smirked slightly.

"So, you didn't tell your teammates that it was a clone? Went for genuine reactions, did you?"

"Something like that," Naruto said, getting into a fighting stance. "Now, let's see you break as well."

–

**So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Remember to leave a review!**

**Peace,**

**ZnK**


	13. Chapter 13

**New chapter! Please enjoy, guys, and thank you for your condolensces! I appreciate it more than you think!**

–

Sasuke scoffed to himself. Somehow, he felt like he'd drawn the short straw. Naruto was probably having a much more interesting fight than him and Kakashi. After all, you couldn't really call this a fight, chasing after that Deidara guy.

"I think this is far enough, hn," they heard Deidara say, before spinning around and launching eight clay projectiles at Kakashi and Sasuke, who dodged to the sides just in time for the clay birds to explode.

"Sasuke, did you see it?" Kakashi asked as the two landed next to each other on the ground, looking up at Deidara through the trees.

"Yeah. Seems like he's a one-trick pony, too, so this should be easy."

"Don't get too cocky, Sasuke. He's an S-rank ninja for a reason," Kakashi muttered, staring up at Deidara with his Sharingan. "Now, I hope you're not going to be reluctant to strike such a handsome opponent."

Sasuke blinked at that and glanced at Kakashi.

"Was that a gay joke?"

"Maybe."

"Besides, how would you know handsome?"

"Never mind... Let's just focus on this fight..."

"Hey, hey! Stop ignoring me or you'll pay for it, hn!"

Kakashi and Sasuke only just then noticed the clay bird between them. Their eyes widened just as it exploded. Deidara gave a bark of laughter as he stared down at the cloud of smoke that rose from the explosion.

"I'm disappointed! I expected more from Itachi's little brother, hn!"

Deidara's eyes widened when a blade was suddenly placed at his throat, a chokuto to be exact. He looked over his shoulder, to see Sasuke standing behind him on the bird, holding the sword with his Sharingan blazing.

"Then I'll have to put on a good show, won't I?"

"Tch...!"

"According to reports, you use explosive clay to attack, but I haven't seen nearly as many explosions as were reported from your attack on the Kazekage," Sasuke said, a smirk appearing on his face. "I'm guessing you don't have too much clay left."

"Is that so, hn?" Deidara asked, smirking as well. "Whaddya think you're standing on, moron?!"

Sasuke glanced down, to see that his feet had sunk into the bird. He tried to pull them out, but it was like hardened cement. When he looked up at Deidara again, his eyes widened upon seeing the former Iwa ninja also turning into clay.

"KATSU!" was heard from the trees below, and both Deidara and the bird blew up.

–

Sasori looked emotionless, but anyone could see in his eyes that he was at least a bit irritated. Slowly, he reached up and started unbuttoning his coat.

"It really has been a long time..." he said slowly, before taking off his coat, making Naruto, Hinata, and Chiyo's eyes widen, "...since I used myself..."

Sasori's entire body was that of a puppet. He had four long blades on a mechanical arm sticking out of either side of his lower back, a holder for four scrolls on his back, a stinger on a spool of rope in the empty and open stomach cavity, some kind of compartment in the right side of his chest, and a piece of flesh stuck in the left side of his chest, which had the kanji for 'Scorpion' painted on it.

"He turned himself into a puppet..." Naruto muttered in amazement.

"I thought it was strange that he hadn't aged a day since the last time I saw him," Chiyo mumbled gravely.

"His chakra is flowing from that thing in his chest..." Hinata said softly, focusing her Byakugan on Sasori. "I think that is what is keeping him alive."

Sasori raised his hands, showing two metal tubes sticking out of his palms. Naruto and Hinata only had a second to go wide-eyed, before they both had to dodge a stream of white-hot flames shooting out of each tube.

"Suiton: Suijin Heki!" Naruto called out after forming a set of seals, spitting out a large amount of water, which formed a wall in front of him, blocking the stream of fire, while Hinata and Chiyo did a very good job of dodging.

"What's wrong?" Sasori said as the fire died down, and one of the scrolls on his back disintegrated. "Too hot for you?"

Without waiting for a response, Sasori leaned back, and the stinger shot out of his stomach, heading straight for Naruto at an amazing speed. What he didn't expect was for Naruto to lash out with his leg, kicking the stinger into the air, before lashing out and grabbing the rope.

"Mistake," Naruto concluded with a grin, before giving the rope a yank. Sasori was sent hurling toward Naruto, who cocked his fist back as he packed it with chakra. However, the blades on Sasori's back started spinning and moved forward, so that they were spinning protectively in front of the puppeteer.

Naruto's fist clenched, the chakra packing into in casting a shockwave that cracked the ground.

'Time it right!' Naruto yelled in his mind as the puppet came flying toward him. His fist rocketed toward the redhead, and he watched almost in slow motion as it neared Sasori, slipping right between two of the spinning blades and smashing into Sasori's chest.

Sasori was smashed into pieces, the punch scattering them all over the cave with the force of it.

"Gotcha," Naruto said triumphantly, grinning.

"Well done, Naruto-kun!" Hinata praised with a smile as Naruto turned around and walked over to her and Chiyo.

"Thanks. Sorry you didn't get to fight the Sandaime. I guess I'm just a glory hog," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. He blinked, however, when his senses picked up on movement, and he spun around to see the pieces of Sasori moving across the ground, gathering together and slowly reforming his body.

"Senju Naruto..." Sasori muttered as his head reattached itself to his body. "I never thought I'd have to use this technique against a single shinobi..."

He took a scroll off his back and tossed it into the air. It unfurled, and he opened the compartment on the right side of his chest, sending out hundreds of chakra strings as a massive amount of smoke exploded from the scroll.

When it cleared, the team went wide-eyed.

Floating above Sasori was at least one hundred different puppets, and Naruto could bet that each and every one of them had at least one poison-coated blade hidden somewhere on them.

"How is that...?" Naruto muttered, screwing his eyes shut and shaking his head. When he opened his eyes again the puppets were still there, so he clearly wasn't imagining it. "Scratch that, I'm not going to ask if it's possible, since it clearly is, but are you freaking kidding me?!"

"How am I going to explain this?" Sasori muttered, burying his face in his palm and looking genuinely embarrassed. "How long it took me to take down two brats and an old hag... That I even had to take out my last trick..." He looked up, a deadened and very dangerous look in his eye. "Akahigi: Hyakki no Souen (Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets)... I will show you its power."

Chiyo reached into a pouch on her hip and took out a scroll, unrolling it and slamming her hands together. Out of the scroll, ten puppets were summoned into existence, and Naruto had to admit that they looked a lot more badass than Sasori's puppets.

"Right," Naruto said with a grin. "Guess we've got more soldiers on our side now. Alright!" He punched his fist into his palm. "Let's do this!"

–

"Dangerous, dangerous..." Sasuke muttered, landing on top of a tree and patting his smoldering right sleeve. "Guess that's what I get for getting a big head."

"Almost got you, Uchiha Sasuke, hn!"

Sasuke looked to his right, so see Deidara floating on another clay bird, smirking at the Uchiha.

"You did," Sasuke admitted. "But how do you know I didn't just do that to lure out the real you?"

Deidara snorted at that.

"Are you expecting me to buy that? Even if you survived the explosion, you really expect me to believe you'd risk your life just to lure me out?"

"Well, my life was never really in danger. The only risk was that I might get burned," Sasuke said with a smirk. "The main purpose of that stunt was not only to lure out the real you, but also to take your mind off of Kakashi."

This statement made Deidara blink.

"Wait, what?"

Suddenly, a lightning-covered hand burst out of Deidara's chest, making his eyes widen in surprise and pain as he looked over his shoulder, to see Kakashi standing behind him, his Sharingan spinning slowly in its socket.

"W-Why you...!" Deidara hissed, raising his hand slowly and forming a half-Ram seal. He was shocked, however, when Sasuke's sword came flying through the air, piercing the clay bird. Electricity was arcing along the blade.

"It's no use trying to blow us up," Kakashi said calmly. "We have already read your techniques with our Sharingan. We're using our Raiton jutsu to nullify your Doton jutsu. Your bombs are duds."

"T-Tch...! G-God damn Sharingan... bastards...!" Deidara growled out, glaring from Kakashi to Sasuke. "I-I'll get you...! Hn!"

"That's not going to happen," Kakashi said simply. "Sasuke!"

"Right."

Sasuke jumped, crossing the distance between them. As he landed on the clay bird, he stepped toward Deidara and grabbed his sword. The blade flashed, and the next second Deidara's head was flying through the air, separated from the body with a look of utter shock on his face.

Immediately, the clay bird stopped flapping its wings and started falling toward the ground. Kakashi leapt off, taking Deidara's body, while Sasuke jumped off to grab Deidara's head in the air.

"I guess he was too dangerous to bring back alive," Kakashi reasoned as he lay the body down on the ground and pulled his hand out of it. "But we'll have to bring the body back to Konoha for study, at least."

"Yeah," Sasuke said, landing next to Kakashi and setting down the head. "Let's seal it up and go help the others."

"Do you really think they need it?"

"Better safe than sorry."

–

One of a hundred puppets was smashed to bits just a couple of feet away from Hinata, who gave Naruto, the one who had smashed it, a grateful look.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. I missed that one."

"In this crowd, that can be forgiven," Naruto said with a grin, flashing through handseals. "Mokuton: Houyou no Niwa (Wood Element: Embracing Garden)!"

Several thorny wooden vines burst from the ground and wrapped around twenty of the attacking puppets, crushing them to pieces. As Naruto focused on the technique, two more puppets came at him from the side, but before they could reach him, Hinata blurred into view and cut the chakra string holding them with her Juuken.

"Hakke Kuushou (Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm)!" she called out, lashing out with a palm thrust at the two puppets, blowing them away with what appeared to be a gust of wind.

"Chiyo-baa, how are you holding up?" Naruto asked the old lady, who leapt over to land next to him, her fingers moving with a surprising grace for someone her age.

"I'm feeling a bit stiff and tired, but I suppose that's something that comes with age," she admitted. "Naruto-kun, you will need to go for Sasori. If you take him out, none of these puppets will pose any danger."

"From what I can tell, Naruto-kun, it is that piece of flesh in his chest that is keeping him alive," Hinata said, blocking an attack and countering with a Juuken strike. "Go, we can handle this!"

Naruto grinned and charged forward, swerving between the attacking puppets and dodging as best he could. He gritted his teeth when he felt a blade cut up his cheek, and another cutting him in the shoulder. Nonetheless, he kept up his charge, heading straight for a surprised Sasori.

"Just die already!" Naruto barked as he held out his hand. A ball of wildly spiraling chakra formed above his palm as he sped between two puppets and crossed the distance to Sasori, who only had time to go wide-eyed before the blond slammed the ball into the piece of flesh in his chest with a cry of "Rasengan!" He didn't cry out in pain, however. Perhaps he simply couldn't feel pain? In any case, he maintained the surprised look as his body was once more blown to pieces. This time, though, the flesh wasn't just sent flying. It was completely shredded by the attack, spattering the walls of the cave with tiny pieces of flesh.

Immediately, the fifty-or-so remaining puppets stopped moving, dropping lifelessly to the ground.

Feeling confident enough to relax a bit, Naruto let out a sigh.

"This fight... took way too long..."

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata uttered, watching Naruto cautiously as she approached him. Slowly, he sank down on one knee, exhaling once more.

"This is one damn potent poison..." he mumbled. "Hinata... you made antidotes, right?"

"Y-Yes! Please, hold still, and I'll administer it right away!"

Slowly, Naruto's gaze drifted toward Gaara's lifeless body, which was laying by the wall of the cave. Amazingly, it hadn't been disturbed by the battle that had taken place.

"It's a shame we were too late..." he said softly as Hinata stuck him with an auto-injector, which pumped the antidote into his bloodstream. "He was way too young for this."

Chiyo made her way over, looking tired but still fit for another bout. He gaze was sad as she looked at Gaara, her brow furrowing.

"I am the reason why this happened," she said softly. "I was the one who performed the jutsu that sealed the Shukaku inside Gaara... If it wasn't for that, he would have led a good life. And he wouldn't have been targeted by the Akatsuki..."

"Don't blame yourself," Naruto muttered, rising to his feet with Hinata's help. "There's nothing you can do now."

"There is one thing I can do," Chiyo said slowly. "An old hag's way of making up for her mistakes in life, I suppose."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I have a jutsu that I had been saving for Sasori, should he ever need it," Chiyo said. "It's a Tensei Ninjutsu (Life Transfer Technique). It can save Gaara."

–

It was a week later that found Naruto sitting at Ichiraku Ramen with Sasuke. He was grinning happily to himself while waiting for his ramen to be served.

"Well, at least now we know we're ready for the Akatsuki," he said, flashing Sasuke a thumbs up. "During our first encounter with them, we killed two, and we defeated Itachi, even if it was just a strange clone with less power."

"It doesn't sound as impressive when you say it like that, though..." Sasuke muttered.

"The only difference, I think, is that if he'd been at full power, it would've just taken a bit longer."

"Maybe," Sasuke said, nodding slowly. "Still, I can't shake the feeling that he was just playing with us..."

"You sure that's not just because he's your brother? Like, some inborn, permanent suspicion that he's purposefully being a dick against you in particular?"

Sasuke blinked at that and gave Naruto a strange look. In response, the blond shrugged.

"Hey, I don't know. I've never had a blood-brother, remember? I don't know how those relationships work."

"Speaking of relationships, I've noticed that you've been getting a lot of female attention lately," Sasuke said with a smirk. "I guess now that I'm off the market, they're settling for the second best, eh?"

This earned him a glare from Naruto.

"You do realize that I can break your face with a flick of a finger, right?"

"Point taken."

"But while we're on that topic, has anyone caught your interest yet?" Naruto wanted to know, to which Sasuke scoffed.

"Why would I tell you? You've probably got ten scathing jokes all lined up."

"Well, they're just jokes. But if you're insistent, I'll keep them to myself. I seriously do want to know if I'll have a prospective brother-in-law soon."

"Well, you wouldn't really be brothers-in-law, since we're not actually related."

"Well, we should be!" Naruto barked. "We did the blood pact, we've grown up together, we're about as close as we could possibly get without sharing parents. Plus, we'll be doing that clan alliance once I become Head, so there's that as well. I think I have the right to call any guy you fall for my brother-in-law."

Sasuke smiled softly as Ichiraku set down their ramen bowls in front of them.

"I guess that's true. And it's not like I mind. And for your information, yes."

"Oho!" Naruto grinned widely. "So, anyone I know? If you say Gai, or Lee, I'm going to have to break all of your bones."

"God no! No, no, no, it's not anyone you know, I think," Sasuke said, shaking his head. "You know Yama-san at the weapons shop?"

"Eh...? I thought you weren't into older men?"

"His son, you moron. He's been giving me... glances."

"Oh! You mean Takeshi? Yeah, he's a good guy. Didn't know he leaned that way, though."

"I'm not totally sure if he does," Sasuke muttered. "You know, it's really hard for a gay guy to find someone... For straight people, it's easier. Just look for someone who doesn't have the same reproductive organs as you and you're set, but this... I don't know who is available and who isn't..."

"Right..."

Naruto downed his ramen in record time, paid for the meal, and then dashed off, leaving a blinking Sasuke staring after him.

"He just ate one bowl?" Ichiraku asked in surprise. "That's rare..."

"Wonder what got into him..." Sasuke muttered, frowning. "Though I'm getting this feeling like I need to beat him up for something..."

Sasuke sat there in puzzled silence for only a few minutes before Naruto came running back to the ramen stand, taking a seat and ordering another bowl. Within moments, the ramen was served, and Naruto wasted no time wolfing it down.

"Ah, that was good! Another!" Naruto said, setting down the bowl with a grin. He looked at Sasuke to see the Uchiha staring expectantly at him. "What?"

"What was that all about?"

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot!" Naruto said and gave Sasuke a thumbs up. "I went to see Takeshi. You read his signals correctly. He's interested."

This made Sasuke go wide-eyed in shock.

"You... You...?"

"Yeah, I went and talked to him for you."

To Naruto's amazement, the punch that he had been expecting never came. Instead, Sasuke's face turned steadily more red, and then a thud echoed through the ramen stand as Sasuke slammed his face down on the counter in embarrassment.

"What, was that not alright?"

A _chink_ was heard as Sasuke's chokuto clicked out of its sheathe.

"Na... ru... to...!"

–

Tsunade sat in a smaller meeting room in the Hokage Tower, a room she was sure her predecessor and sensei had spent many hours in, with the very same people who were sitting across from her right now, no doubt.

"So, Homura-ossan, Koharu-baa, what did you need?" Tsunade asked in a professional tone of voice, but she knew that the two would try to push their outdated way of doing things onto her. They would try to make her do what they wanted. Some things never changed, after all.

"Tsunade, we need to talk about Senju Naruto," Homura said seriously.

"Somehow, I get the feeling you are going to propose something ridiculous," Tsunade muttered.

"Do not send Naruto on missions that have a possibility of contact with Akatsuki," Homura said. "And from now on, appoint high-ranking shinobi to watch Naruto. Assign him to four-man teams to reinforce our supervision and guard over him."

"Also, you should decrease his amount of missions as much as possible," Koharu added, "and restrict the range of his movements."

Tsunade snorted loudly as she leaned back in her sofa. "That _is_ ridiculous," she said, waving them off.

"Tsunade, Naruto is no ordinary child. He's a Jinchuuriki," Homura argued. "Normally, we should not even allow him to leave the village, should keep him under constant supervision. We are making compromises here."

"Naruto is already in an incredibly capable four-man team," Tsunade said simply. "And restricting his movements is out of the question. Even if I somehow agreed to it, even if _he_ somehow did, Akatsuki would still pursue him. The Jinchuuriki staying in the village didn't stop them from going after the Kazekage himself, after all. If we confine him to the village, Konoha itself will be in danger. If he's constantly on the move, the Akatsuki will be more hard-pressed to find him." Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Naruto has an incredible power. He is a great asset to Konoha."

"You are being flippant, Tsunade," Homura said. "Speak like a Hokage!"

This caused Tsunade to stomp her foot down on the floor, actually shaking the room with the force.

"That's exactly what I'm doing! I'm not going to lock away one of Konoha's most powerful shinobi!"

"Then, can you truly guarantee that Naruto will not be taken by Akatsuki?!" Homura barked, raising his voice and giving Tsunade a stern glare. "If Akatsuki takes the Kyuubi from Naruto, they will become an even greater threat to Konoha. Can you guarantee that this will not happen?"

Tsunade calmed down upon hearing this. To Homura and Koharu's surprise, the blond Hokage smiled softly, a smile full of confidence.

"Naruto will not be taken. I have complete faith in that."

"And if that belief is mistaken?" Koharu said. "What will you do?"

"The Will of Fire burns strongly in Naruto. He will never fall, that is a guarantee. Even if he would come close to it, he has Hyuuga Hinata, Hatake Kakashi, and Uchiha Sasuke by his side to support him. And should the impossible happen, should the Akatsuki kill that team and take the Kyuubi, placing Konoha and Fire Country in danger... then I will put my life on the line to save it, as Godaime Hokage!"

A silence followed this. Clearly, Homura and Koharu didn't really know how to continue. Thankfully, they were smart enough not to use the same argument over and over. They knew that they couldn't play those cards anymore, and had to come up with a new tactic. Tsunade didn't let them start.

"I am the Hokage of Konoha. Not only that, but I am the Head of the Senju Clan. Naruto is a Konoha shinobi and member of the Senju Clan. As a shinobi, what he does is up to _me_. As his Head, the restrictions placed on his movements are decided by _me_. Not you. You two are advisors. You may give your opinion, and I'll take it into account, but don't order me around. This is not a democracy."

Tsunade scoffed at the two old shinobi and stood up.

"How's that for speaking like a Hokage?"

–

"You are still improving," Hyuuga Hiashi said as he took a break from his training session with Hinata. They were sitting by the training ground, drinking tea. Hinata nodded silently, and Hiashi took this moment to give his daughter a studying glance. "Is it the Senju boy?"

There was, as always, a tone of slight disapproval in his voice. But it wasn't disapproval toward Senju Naruto himself. He was disapproving toward anyone who wasn't a Hyuuga. Hiashi didn't discriminate, after all.

"Naruto-kun's return has made me happier, father, but it's not him alone," Hinata said softly, a small smile appearing on her face. "Our team is back together."

"It pains me to admit this, but being on the same team as the Uchiha and Senju has been good for you," Hiashi said, his eyes closing to demonstrate just how painful it was to admit that. "They seem to be a great inspiration for you."

"Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun are born leaders, father," Hinata said. "They both inspire me to push on, even when it feels like I may have hit the peak of my potential. They have the ability to help you reach as high as you possibly can."

"Speak of the Devil," Hiashi said suddenly, and just then, there were two blurs in front of them, revealing themselves to be Senju Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.

"Yo!" Naruto greeted, raising his hand. Hinata bowed her head in greeting, but Hiashi just closed his eyes in annoyance. This made Naruto furrow his brow. "What, you're not gonna ask how we got in?"

"Does it matter? You will just find another way to come here," Hiashi muttered, which caused Naruto to frown.

"Wow, buzz kill..."

Hiashi's eyes snapped open to glare at Naruto, who flinched slightly at the intensity.

"W-Woah, easy! I meant no offense. If you wanna be a buzz kill, good for you. Goes with the Hyuuga Head image. Go buzz killing!"

"You're not making this situation any better," Sasuke quipped, noticing how Hiashi's frown got even harsher. "Anyway, we need to borrow Hinata for a while."

"Why?" Hiashi asked, not letting up his glare.

"Team training," Naruto said simply, walking up to them and placing a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Later."

With that, Team Seven, including Hinata, blurred away before Hiashi could argue.

The three Chunnin appeared in the clearing of their usual training ground. The massive forest Naruto had summoned had long since sunk back into the ground thanks to the blond's manipulation, so it was open once more. Hinata looked from Sasuke to Naruto, seeing the two of them looking a bit uncomfortable.

"What, uh... What kind of training do we need to do?" she asked hesitantly. She didn't know if she wanted an answer, considering how embarrassed the duo looked.

"Well, we need to do some more teamwork exercises," Naruto muttered. "It's embarrassing to admit, since we're all Chunnin, and we've known each other for so long, but the fact is, I wreak too much havoc in my fights."

"And I'm not exactly careful, either," Sasuke muttered.

"Yeah, I could barely use any of my Mokuton Ninjutsu during that fight with Sasori," Naruto said. "Since I'm not really careful, there was a chance I might hit you or the old lady with one of my stronger attacks. So we need to get a bit more organized."

"But... shouldn't Kakashi-sensei be here for that as well?"

"We've already contacted him, but you know how tardy he is," Sasuke said, crossing his arms with a frown on his face. "We'll get started on some simpler exercises until he gets here."

–

A knock sounded on Tsunade's door, and when Tsunade called, "Enter," it opened to reveal Kakashi, who gave her a lazy wave.

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, I want you to break the news to Naruto, because I really don't want to hear his whining," Tsunade said with a nod, which made Kakashi sweatdrop as she reached into a drawer on her desk and pulled out a thick file, holding it out to the Jounin. "Team Seven is no longer on the missions list."

"What's this?" Kakashi asked, taking the file and opening it.

"That is a new group I am putting together," Tsunade said, while Kakashi looked over the roster to see who else was in the group. "The Nijuu Shoutai (Twenty Platoons) is being created for the sole purpose of hunting and killing the Akatsuki whenever the cross the border into Fire Country. I want your team in the group."

"Hm, Naruto would be upset about taking off the missions list, but I guess the thought of hunting Akatsuki would appease him a bit, if only slightly," Kakashi said softly. "You said you _want_ my team?"

"I am well aware of how dangerous Akatsuki is, Kakashi," Tsunade said seriously. "That is why joining the group is completely voluntary."

Kakashi had a small frown on his face. There were many pros and cons to consider. Granted, putting Team Seven in the Nijuu Shoutai would make his students pleased, because it would give them a chance to fight Akatsuki. However, being on the team would take them off the missions list, and no one could know how long it would take until an Akatsuki encounter. Naruto might even manage to drive Kakashi crazy with complaints...

But then, Asuma had joined, commanding Shikamaru, Izumo, and Kotetsu, and Asuma would sure never let Kakashi hear the end of it if the cycloptic Jounin declined a job that the Sarutobi accepted...

"Very well," Kakashi said after a few seconds of silence, nodding at Tsunade. "You can count on Team Seven."

"Excellent," Tsunade said, a pleased smile on her face.

"Though, I wonder, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi muttered, raising his hand to rub his chin, "why would you offer Naruto such a job?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm certain you will never hear the end of this from the elders. I am just surprised you would take all that complaining for Naruto's sake, even if he is your grandson."

"Usually, I wouldn't bother, that's true," Tsunade said with a nod, but then smiled at Kakashi, "but fact remains that Team Seven is probably the strongest shinobi team at my disposal. If anyone can take down an Akatsuki pair, it's you and your brats."

Kakashi retained his normal lazy expression, but he was definitely surprised to hear that. While he was used to hearing about what an amazing Jounin he was (though Naruto and Sasuke had been doing their damndest to convince him otherwise during their spars), he had never been told by a Hokage that he was one of the strongest. Not even Minato told him that.

"I'm honored to hear that, Hokage-sama," he said, bowing his head.

"Just don't tell Naruto and Sasuke," Tsunade said as she returned to her paperwork, taking the file from Kakashi again. "I don't want their heads getting any bigger than they already are. Well, welcome to the Nijuu Shoutai. You're dismissed."

"Right."

–

**So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Remember to leave a review!**

**Peace,**

**ZnK**


	14. Chapter 14

**New chapter! Please enjoy!**

**Edit: Was told I called Harry a couple of times. Fixed now, haha.**

–

Life was pretty good for Naruto. Granted, Kakashi putting them in the Nijuu Shoutai had pissed him off a little. While it would be awesome to go fighting Akatsuki, there was still the fact that they couldn't do missions because they were on stand-by...

So, naturally, Naruto spent most of that time either sparring with Sasuke, Hinata, or Kakashi, or overseeing Konohamaru's training. Unfortunately, that became boring quickly...

But all-in-all, life was good. Since he came back from his training trip, he had noticed that he received considerably less angry stares from the villagers. Some of the shopkeepers even greeted him now, which was cool. And Kurama wasn't as much of a dick as he used to be. And Naruto had still managed to avoid catching the gay from Sasuke.

While he knew that homosexuality wasn't contagious, he loved how annoyed Sasuke got when Naruto claimed that it was.

"Well, well," Naruto heard, making him look over his shoulder to see Team Ten approaching, minus Chouji. It was Shikamaru who had spoken, smirking at him. "Heard you also got signed up for that troublesome Nijuu Shoutai thing."

"Yeah," Naruto said, nodding in greeting to Ino, who smiled at him. "You too?"

"Yeah, Asuma-sensei signed us up," Ino said. "Chouji and I are in Ninth Platoon with Raidou-senpai and Aoba-senpai, and Shikamaru is in Fourth with Asuma-sensei, Izumo-senpai, and Kotetsu-senpai."

"Wow, you're not one team?" Naruto asked in surprise. "Why not? Don't you work best with each other?"

"That's right, you've been away," Ino said in realization. "Team Ten has been split up for a whole bunch of missions, and most often we've been paired up with others. Chouji and I work better with Raidou and Aoba than Izumo and Kotetsu do, so we've been swapped."

"Cool. So, you guys looking forward to kicking some Akatsuki ass?" Naruto asked with a grin, which made Shikamaru scoff, while Ino looked a bit hesitant.

"Get real," Shikamaru muttered as he reached up and scratched the back of his head. "Personally, I'm hoping you and your dream team end up saddled with that responsibility. I don't really like getting my ass kicked, even if I do a bit of kicking on my own."

"Yeah, I don't feel entirely comfortable at the thought of fighting guys like that..." Ino muttered in embarrassment. "I'm just not as strong as you and your teammates..."

"Yeah, Ino's greatest weapon is her harpy scream, but I don't figure it'd do too much against the Akatsukyeowch!" Shikamaru yelped in pain as he was smashed into the ground by Ino's fist of righteous fury.

"Shut up, Shikamaru!"

"Geez, that's what I get for agreeing with my teammate..." Shikamaru muttered, sitting up and rubbing his head. "So, anyway, Naruto, what are you up to?"

"Trying to get rid of my restlessness," Naruto answered with a frown. "Because of this Nijuu Shoutai thing, we're on stand-by, so we can't go on missions. Hell, I can't even leave the village. And sparring with the team isn't as fun and refreshing as it used to be."

"Maybe you need to spar with some new blood," Shikamaru mused, which made Naruto grin at him.

"Are you volunteering, Shikamaru?"

"I'm not stupid," Shikamaru muttered. "I'd get killed within five minutes."

"I think you're underestimating your tactical skills," Naruto said, before looking over Shikamaru with a pondering look on his face. "But you do look kinda fragile. I guess it's for the best."

"So, you've got nothing to do, then?" Ino asked suddenly, smiling brightly. "Nothing planned?"

"No?"

"Good. Would you like to go get a bite to eat with me?"

Naruto opened his mouth to say no on pure reflex, to claim that he had training to do. Thankfully, his mouth wasn't faster than his brain this time, because he realized that he didn't actually have any training to do.

"Er... What?" he asked, blinking in confusion.

"Would you like some dango?" Ino asked, sliding up to Naruto and looping her arm with his. "My treat."

"Um, okay?" Naruto said hesitantly.

Ino had never really shown any real interest in him before. She had always been a Sasuke follower. Was she... going for Naruto because he was the second best? If that was it, he didn't really want to hang out with her. But then again... free food.

"Alright, great!" Ino said with a pleased smile as she dragged Naruto off. "Shikamaru, let Asuma know I won't be there for team training!"

Shikamaru watched as Naruto was pulled away by Ino. He reached up and lazily scratched his head.

"Now why'd she have to decide on Naruto? One loud blonde is troublesome enough..." he muttered, before frowning. 'If those two get together, they'll be around each other a lot. And by extension, they'll both be around me a lot... And they'll be loud... Ugh...'

–

"And then, Sandayu started talking about how it was hopeless," Naruto told Hinata as the two wandered through Konoha, having just had lunch at Toyama Dango. "So Koyuki stands up, and she gives him this look, just like Fuun-hime in the movies, and she goes," Naruto set his face in as serious an expression as he could and looked at Hinata out of the corner of his eye, "'Never give up. As long as we breathe, we can fight.' Man! I thought I was gonna cry for sure!"

Hinata giggled at that, smiling brightly.

"You sure have been through many adventures on your trip, haven't you, Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah! It just sucked that you guys weren't with me. It would have been much more fun," Naruto said with a grin, which only grew wider as the third member of their team landed in front of them, raising his hand in a wave. "Yo, Sasuke! How did the date go?"

"Yo, Naruto, Hinata," Sasuke greeted, before nodding. "It went surprisingly well. It felt a bit nervous in the beginning, but Takeshi is a pretty nice guy."

"See, aren't you happy I went and flapped my gums to him?" Naruto asked happily. "If I hadn't, you'd still be stalking him to try to figure out if he was a fellow gay."

"Yes, I'm grateful you went and asked him," Sasuke said, but added before Naruto could speak, "_but_ that does _not_ mean that you're permitted to do anything like that again."

"He just doesn't want to admit that the direct approach is usually the best," Naruto muttered to Hinata, who much to Sasuke's surprise nodded in agreement.

"Et tu, Hinata?"

"Well, Sasuke-kun, you are usually so brave... But when it came to Takeshi-san, you were kind of... me-like."

"I was not!"

"Were to."

"Was not!"

"Were to," Hinata insisted. "And I would know."

"Wait, you were Hinata-like?" Naruto asked, his eyes widening. "When? Why was I not around for it?"

"Hinata, don't you dare...!"

"He's been coming to the Hyuuga Compound sometimes for advice," Hinata said, a smile on her face. It clearly showed how at ease she felt around her teammates that she could say something like that without fearing Sasuke's wrath. "Eep!"

Okay, by the fact that Hinata just realized what she had said and took off running, she _did_ fear Sasuke's wrath...

"Why'd you have to go and scare her off?" Naruto muttered, scratching his head. "She was gonna buy me ramen..."

"Haven't you already eaten?" Sasuke asked, to which Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, but I always have room for ramen."

"You know, maybe you should sew up that black hole you call a stomach?" Sasuke said with a smirk. "Don't want to get fat."

"I'll never get fat," Naruto said, snorting. "The doctors say I've got a _high metabolism_," he muttered, using air-quotes as he mockingly said 'high metabolism'.

Sasuke snorted as well at hearing that. He was quiet for a few seconds, and then gave Naruto another smirk.

"So, I hear you went on a date as well recently. Ino, was it?"

"Yeah, it was pretty strange," Naruto mumbled as he reached up to scratch the back of his head. "Didn't really know what to make of her... Thankfully, I'll have a chance to figure her out later. We've decided to go out for dango again soon."

Before Sasuke could comment on that, Hinata came running into view. She looked alarmed by something, and it sure as hell wasn't Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed as she reached them. "The Nijuu Shoutai have been summoned to the Hokage Tower. There's been an Akatsuki sighting!"

"Freakin' finally!" Naruto barked, a grin appearing on his face. "I've been getting antsy just walking around the village! Let's go!"

–

"And that's the end of the briefing," Tsunade said, standing on the roof of the Hokage Tower in front of the eighty gathered ninjas, twenty four-man teams, the Nijuu Shoutai. On her right stood Shizune, and on her left stood a monk from the Fire Temple, which had been attacked by the Akatsuki. "Does anyone have any questions?"

Naruto raised his hand, and Tsunade looked at him.

"Capture or kill?" he asked.

"Capture if possible, but no matter what, do not let them escape. Anyone else?"

Now Asuma raised his hand.

"Chiriku, a former member of the Twelve Shinobi Guardsmen, should have been there too. What happened to him?"

The monk frowned at that and lowered his head.

"Chiriku-sama died... at the hands of those two scoundrels..."

"As I just said, in the event that capture becomes impossible, eradicate them," Tsunade said. "As much as I'd like to find out about their plans, these guys are dangerous. You must _not_ let them leave the country! No matter what, find them! Go!"

Tsunade threw her arm out, and the twenty teams dashed off.

When Team Seven (named Fifth Platoon in the Nijuu Shoutai) took a break, it was several miles away from Konoha. As expected, everyone turned to Naruto once they stopped.

"Naruto," Kakashi said. "How far can you stretch your senses? Do you think you can find them from here?"

"Only one way to find out, isn't there?" Naruto said as he crouched down and put his hand in a half-Ram seal, before reaching down and pressing his index finger on his other hand into the dirt. His eyes drifted shut as he concentrated harder than ever before. "This would be much easier if the whole Nijuu Shoutai hadn't been sent out," he muttered after a moment. "There are many chakra signatures I don't really recognize, but I think I can figure out which ones belong to Konoha..."

"Any signatures that stand out?" Sasuke asked, to which Naruto shook his head.

"Not that I can feel from here... My senses aren't sharp enough yet to stretch across a whole country... Hold on."

Naruto pulled his finger out of the dirt and started going through handseals. As usual finishing in a Snake seal, he slammed his hand down on the ground.

"Mokuton: Futsu no Uranaibou no Jutsu (Wood Element: Buddha's Divining Rod Technique)!"

A tremor went through the ground. Although no member of Team Seven could see it, wooden poles with intricate seal carvings on them sprouted from the ground all around them in a fifty-mile radius.

"What's that?" Sasuke asked, furrowing his brow as he looked around to try to figure out what Naruto's jutsu had just done.

"This is a technique the Shodai created. The Nidaime was a sensor, and this technique was created to amplify a Senju chakra signal," Naruto said, putting his hand in a half-Ram seal again and pressing his finger down in the dirt. "They catch my chakra and send it out further, increasing my sensing range. Now shut your hole and let me focus."

There was a minute of silence, and then a small grin slowly spread on Naruto's face.

"Ah, there you are..."

"Found them?" Kakashi asked, and Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, two hundred and twenty-five klicks northwest. Either they're Akatsuki, or there's two other people with freakish chakra running around in Fire Country."

"Let's hope not. We've got enough to worry about as it is," Sasuke muttered, looking to the north-west. "Well, there's only one way to find out if it's them."

With that, the team dashed off.

"Sensei," Hinata spoke up as they ran. "Did the monk give us any intel on the two Akatsuki?"

"Unfortunately, no. He only survived because he wasn't there. He only arrived as they were leaving," Kakashi said, shaking his head. "The only intel he could give us was a description of their appearances."

"Well, appearance-wise, they won't be hard to spot, what with the cloaks and all," Naruto reasoned with a shrug.

–

Team Seven landed on a branch in a tree by the edge of the forest. Before them was a building, which was old and worn down. They had no idea what the front business had been at one point, but it looked abandoned now. However, they all knew that this was a rather well-known exchange point. No doubt, the Akatsuki had come here to turn in Chiriku's body for a bounty.

Outside the building sat one of the Akatsuki members, a purple-eyed man with slicked-back, gray hair, who had a large, three-bladed scythe on his back.

"That is one strange weapon," Naruto commented as Hinata looked the man over with her Byakugan.

"It's attached to a rope that's wrapped around his wrist. No doubt, he is proficient in using the scythe for mid-range attacks as well," she informed them, narrowing her eyes slightly. "It's strange..."

"Well, naturally, the thing's got three blades."

"No, that isn't what I meant," Hinata said softly. "He is completely relaxed... Akatsuki are wanted. Anyone would be at least slightly on guard, but he isn't. It's as though he's not worried about any surprise attacks..."

"So, he's either strong or stupid enough to not worry," Sasuke concluded with a hum. "Well, at least we know he is mainly close-range. Anyone swinging around a weapon like that is someone who enjoys carnage. I doubt he'd use any jutsu. He doesn't feel like the type."

"His partner is still an unknown, though," Kakashi muttered. "Hinata, can you see inside the building?"

Hinata focused, then nodded.

"Yes, I see him." Her eyes widened in shock. "W-What?"

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"This man, he... he has five chakra centers!" Hinata whispered in amazement. "I have never seen anything like this before!"

"Shiiiit," Naruto muttered in annoyance. "I hate running into the unknown. Odds are I'm gonna get hurt..."

"That's not all. This man is also relaxed. Recklessly so..." Hinata mumbled. "C-Can we... Can we really take these guys?"

"So long as we take them one at a time, there shouldn't be a problem," Sasuke said, then furrowed his brow and added, "hopefully."

"That's great. Your confidence is truly inspiring, Sasuke..." Naruto muttered.

"Enough," Kakashi ordered, narrowing his eye as he stared at the man sitting outside the building. "Naruto, we don't know anything about these guys. It would be best to just take this one out in a single strike, then focus on capturing the other. Do you feel up for a Fastball?"

"I knew you were gonna ask that..." Naruto muttered as he stood up. "I never should have invented that move..."

"Well, you did, and now you're gonna fly," Sasuke said with a smirk, standing up as well and grabbing Naruto by the back of his pants and his collar. "Ready?"

"So long as you guys surround me and get ready to swarm the other guy when he comes out, yeah," Naruto said with a nod, steeling himself. "Alright, do it."

Sasuke lifted Naruto into the air, holding the blond horizontally in front of him. Kakashi and Hinata backed away to give him some room, and Sasuke started spinning. He picked up more and more speed, until he and Naruto were nothing but a blur, spinning like a top on the branch. Then, Naruto was flung straight at the man, a blond missile that shot at the Akatsuki with amazing speed.

The silver-haired man only had time to look up before he copped a straight right to his face that snapped his head back and sent him flying into and through the entire building, kicking up a massive amount of dust.

"One down," Naruto concluded as he landed on the steps where the man had been sitting. "Now we just have to wait for the other guy."

"By 'the other guy', I assume you're referring to me?"

Naruto's eyes widened, and he spun around to find himself facing down an incredibly unnerving ninja.

The man wore the standard Akatsuki cloak. On his head, he wore a sort of gray cowl with a black mask attached to it, which covered the lower half of his face, leaving only a small amount of his tanned face visible, along with a pair of poisonous green eyes with dark pink, almost red sclera.

The eyes staring coldly at Naruto spoke of cruelty, sadism, and, most importantly, vast amounts of experience, reminding Naruto of the Sandaime's eyes during the Chunnin Exam invasion.

"I've warned Hidan on countless occasions that he should focus his senses if he desperately feels a need to relax his guard. That should teach him a lesson," the man spoke in a slow, drawling, and rather gravelly tone of voice.

"Sorry to tell ya," Naruto said with a grin as Sasuke, Kakashi, and Hinata blurred into view around the Akatsuki member, "but he won't be learning anymore lessons."

"Is that so?"

Naruto only had time for his eyes to widen when he heard the whistle of steel cutting through air. He ducked, and a three-bladed scythe passed through the space his neck had previously occupied, flying straight past the surrounded Akatsuki member and toward Kakashi, who went wide-eyed and leapt out of the way. The rope attached to the butt of the scythe was given a yank, and the scythe changed direction in the air, jerking back and heading straight for Hinata, who leapt away as well.

Sasuke, however, suddenly found himself an inch away from the other Akatsuki member, who had crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. His Sharingan eyes widened and he raised his arm just in time to catch a swing from the man.

The next second, he found himself soaring through the air.

'What the hell?!' he barked in his mind, flipping and landing on his feet several yards away from the man, who was staring at him in what appeared to be boredom. "Regroup!"

Sasuke leapt backward, putting some distance between them, and was soon joined by the rest of his team, who were all staring at the Akatsuki in shock. Or, more specifically, the Akatsuki member who came up to stand next to his partner. It was the silver-haired one, Hidan, and he looked completely unharmed.

"That's quite a punch you've got there, blondie," Hidan said with a grin, tilting his head to the side, hearing several satisfying cracks, before reaching up and wiping blood from his upper lip, which had been pouring from his broken nose. "Thought I actually died there for a second."

"Idiot," the other Akatsuki growled at his partner. "I've told you not to relax, moron."

Hidan twitched in annoyance, and his head snapped toward his partner.

"Kakuzu, eat a dick! Not even you would have had time to react to that one!"

"Perhaps not. The speed was impressive. When he reached the edge of my senses, he was seventy feet away from you, and before I even blinked you were suddenly sent flying," Kakuzu commented, looking over the Konoha team. "Lots of potential among them. And what's this? Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja... Your bounty is pretty high."

"What is this, Naruto?" Kakashi asked quietly. "I thought you hit him?"

"I did," Naruto muttered, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Clean, direct hit straight to the nose... He should be dead."

"Kakuzu, let's take two each," Hidan said, grinning at the Konoha ninjas, looking them over and sizing them up. "I'll take the girl and that blond shit who punched me. They'll be my ceremonial offerings!"

"You really are a moron, Hidan," Kakuzu growled. "Take a good look, that's the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. We want him alive."

"Huh?!" Hidan barked in surprise, narrowing his eyes as he stared intently at Naruto. "Fuck, you're right... Alright, then I'll take sword-boy instead. Should prove amusing."

"Very well," Kakuzu said, setting down the briefcase in his hand. "But don't let your guard down, or they'll kill you."

"Tch, why are you telling me that?" Hidan asked with a grin reappearing on his face. "If they actually can kill me, I want them to. After all, it's impossible."

Kakuzu sighed.

"Fine, do as you wish. It's not like your death will be a great loss. If you do die, I can just cash in on your bounty."

While this (which to the Konoha ninjas looked like a friendly conversation, as they couldn't hear what was being said) was going on, Team Seven were strategizing, all of them with less than pleased looks on their faces.

"See, this is why I hate rushing into the unknown like that..." Naruto muttered. "So, apparently scythe-boy has his eyes set on you and Hinata, Sasuke. You think it's a good idea to split?"

"Yeah, Hinata and I can separate them from each other. In any event, Kakashi is more in tune with working with your more destructive justu. You'd work best together."

"Be careful, though," Naruto said, raising his fist to Sasuke, who tapped it with his own fist. "We still don't know what that freak can do, other than shrugging off one of my punches."

"Hidan," Kakuzu spoke up loud enough for Team Seven to hear. "Take your fight elsewhere. If you're going to do your tedious ceremonial crap, do it away from me."

"Tch, you fucking Atheist piece of shit," Hidan muttered, hefting his scythe. "Like I want you to step all over my ritual grounds... Well, come on then, kids, let's go play elsewhere!"

With that, Hidan leapt off, Sasuke and Hinata following closely, leaving Naruto and Kakashi to face down Kakuzu, who gave both of them cold, calculating looks.

"Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi, seventy million Ryou, and another thirty for an intact Sharingan," he spoke up coldly, then turned his gaze to Naruto. "Shizen no Kami, Senju Naruto, thirty million Ryou. It looks like I stumbled upon two big bounties today."

"Naruto, harden your body and go in close," Kakashi muttered quietly to Naruto. "We need to figure out what this guy can do before we can think up a proper plan for how to beat him."

"Yeah," Naruto said with a nod, flashing through three handseals that ended in a Ram seal. Then, he charged forward at Kakuzu, who didn't even seem to tense up.

The punch Naruto threw was a powerful one. It was fast, too, so it came as an amazing surprise when Kakuzu dodged. It was even more surprising when Kakuzu's fist came flying up into Naruto's gut, hitting him with enough force to lift him off the ground and knock the air out of him.

While Naruto was in the air, Kakuzu raised his other hand and hit Naruto with an amazingly strong punch that sent him flying straight into the abandoned building, crashing through the wall and causing a decent part of the ceiling to collapse on top of him.

"Naruto!" Kakashi yelled in surprise. He couldn't focus on Naruto, however, as Kakuzu was on him in a heartbeat, engaging him in a Taijutsu fight.

There was no finesse, no style in Kakuzu's moves. It was all power, and no energy was wasted in any single one of his strikes, all of them striking with almost mechanical precision.

Kakashi was slightly faster, however, and with his uncovered Sharingan eye, he managed to predict the shinobi's movements and dodge by a hair's bredth each time.

The fighting had to stop, however, and both fighters leapt back to avoid a massive slab of concrete that came flying past them from the hole in the wall. The dust in the hole cleared to reveal Naruto standing, blood pouring down his face from an unseen wound somewhere behind his happuri, or in his hair.

"Ow," he said simply as he walked out of the hole. "Quite the power in you, man. Guess Taijutsu isn't the best way to deal with this."

Kakuzu's eyes widened when Naruto flashed through a chain of handseals.

"Fuuton: Atsudangan!"

A large ball of air was spewed from Naruto's mouth, tearing up the ground and heading straight for the surprised Kakuzu, who leapt out of the way at the last second.

What he hadn't expected was for Kakashi to launch a fireball at him at the same time. The fireball impacted with the Atsudangan just as it passed between them, absorbing the Fuuton jutsu and increasing its power as it crashed into Kakuzu, pushing him back a good twenty yards before exploding.

"Can't have been that easy," Naruto commented as he jumped over and landed next to Kakashi. "Nope, still feel him in there," he said with a gesture for the smoke rising from the blast zone.

"When the smoke cleared, it revealed Kakuzu standing in the crater, looking unharmed. In fact, only his Akatsuki coat had been burned by the explosion and was now hanging from him in tatters. Kakuzu pulled the ruined coat off him, showing that he was wearing some kind of shirt that only covered his front, and not his arms, shoulders, or back.

Both Naruto and Kakashi went wide-eyed at seeing that the man had stitches all over his body, and the glare he gave them was not pleasant. He also had four strange masks sewn into his skin on his back.

"How pitiful, to allow myself to be hit by an attack from a pair of runts..." Kakuzu glared, hunching forward slightly. "Well, given who you are, I guess I can forgive myself. But right now, fun's over."

Kakuzu charged forward, and Naruto noticed how his hand turned pitch black as the fist came flying. He hardened his arm and raised his hand, blocking the strike and skidding back from the force. When Kakashi made to move, Kakuzu threw his free hand out to the side. To everyone's surprise, the stitches on his forearm loosened, and his hand launched toward Kakashi as though fired from a cannon, attached to the rest of the body by a group of black tendrils. The hand latched onto Kakashi's collar, and Kakuzu gave it a yank that caused Kakashi to come flying toward Naruto, who stomped his foot down on the ground.

A wooden pole, its end shaped like a hand, burst from the ground and grabbed Kakashi by the back of the collar at the same time as what appeared to be two wooden meat-cleavers came up from under the tendrils, slamming together and cutting them off.

Kakashi, not even slowed down, planted his feet against the pole and flashed through seals as he launched himself at Kakuzu, who made to leap away, only to find himself grabbed by a grinning Naruto.

"End of the road!" Naruto exclaimed as Kakashi reached them with a lightning-covered hand, which punched straight through Kakuzu's side, piercing his head.

Kakuzu's eyes screwed shut, and a grunt escaped him. He glared with a considerable amount of hatred at Kakashi with eyes that slowly dimmed and closed as his body slackened.

"Well, at least we can bring that other one back alive," Kakashi reasoned as he pulled his hand out of Kakuzu, and Naruto let the Akatsuki drop to the ground. "Let's go help Sasuke and Hinata."

"Yeah, we'll-"

Naruto was interrupted when a fist impacted with his chin, launching him straight up into the air, and a foot impacted with Kakashi's chest and sent him flying into the building, through the wall.

Once Kakashi had pushed the rubble off him and look, his eyes widened at what he saw.

Kakuzu was standing up, glaring heatedly at Kakashi.

'That's impossible!' Kakashi thought in shock. 'I'm sure I pierced his heart!'

A few feet away, Naruto crashed into the ground with considerable force, forming a crater with the impact. Once the dust cleared, Naruto pushed himself up and shook his head to clear it.

"Alright..." the blond muttered, rising to his feet to glare at Kakuzu. "Round two..."

Kakuzu didn't speak. Instead, he just put his hands in a Ram seal. He hunched forward and growled from the strain as his back started bulging. The stitches holding the masks to his skin strained as what seemed like thousands of snakes writhed underneath the skin. Then, the stiches broke, and a huge mass of black tendrils shot out of his back, along with the four masks. The mass split into four pieces, each with a mask on them, and the slowly started taking on a somewhat humanoid form as Kakuzu's back stitched itself back together.

As soon as the four creatures had taken their places at Kakuzu's sides, two of them gave echoing groans as the slowly sank to the ground and turned into black liquid, leaving only a puddle and a mask in their place.

"What the hell?" Naruto muttered in shock, staring wide-eyed at the creatures.

"And with this, you die," Kakuzu growled out, narrowing his eyes.

–

When Sasuke and Hinata had pursued Hidan, the man hadn't gone too far away from Kakuzu, probably to be able to call on his partner if he needed help. But then again, they hadn't really seemed like friends.

Hidan landed in a clearing in the forest not too far away from the building where they had left Kakuzu, Naruto, and Kakashi. He rested his scythe against his shoulder and looked around, seeing Sasuke and Hinata landing in the clearing as well.

"Yeah, this looks like a good place," Hidan said, grinning at the two shinobi.

"As a Konoha shinobi with a capture priority, I feel the need to give you a chance," Sasuke said as he unsheathed his sword. "Give up peacefully, and no harm shall befall you."

"Hah! You think two little brats like you could take me down?!" Hidan barked, his grin only widening as he gave his scythe a few test swings, before charging straight at Sasuke. "Get real!"

Sasuke's Sharingan studied the man as he charged, and his eyes widened in surprise.

'There are so many openings! Is he really an S-ranked ninja? What's his game?'

Hidan whooped with glee as he swung at Sasuke, who deflected the blow with his sword, his eyes widening in amazement when Hidan jumped and launched a spin kick at Hinata, who had come charging from the side.

Hinata blocked the strike, but was sent stumbling back, giving Hidan the opportunity to once more attack Sasuke, who frowned in annoyance as he blocked attack after attack.

'This guy is unnerving...' Sasuke thought, jumping over a horizontal swipe and slashing at Hidan, cutting through the man's nose. The Akatsuki didn't even flinch from the pain. He just kept attacking. 'There are countless openings in his style... Rather, he has no style at all... He doesn't even flinch when I hit him... And he shrugged off one of Naruto's punches with ease... Does he just heal fast? No, his nose hasn't healed yet... Then what? Why isn't he afraid of getting hurt?'

Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted when he had to raise his sword to block an overhead swing, gritting his teeth in annoyance when the two blades he had slipped his sword between tore open the shoulder of his Chunnin vest, almost piercing the skin.

Hidan had that grin on his face still. He still whooped with almost every attack, as if this was just some big game to him. A true-blue Akatsuki. Crazy skills and an equally crazy personality...

Sasuke was given a temporary reprieve when Hinata once more swooped in from the side and landed a powerful Juuken strike to Hidan's ribs, hitting him hard enough to send him flying away.

She didn't let up, though, charging at Hidan and engaging him in close quarters. She was striking to incapacitate, but Hidan showed a surprising ease as he dodged each attack and counter, forcing Hinata to twist and bend to avoid the menacing-looking scythe.

'That weapon is strange,' Sasuke thought as he came rushing at Hidan from behind. 'It's totally unwieldy... It's like he had it made simply for the purpose of causing as much carnage as possible...'

The ground shook, and Sasuke looked to where they had come from, to see a large amount of trees rising up above the forest, followed by a series of explosions.

'Can't count on Naruto to come back us up right now. He's got his hands full...'

"Come on, girl!" Hidan barked as Hinata barely dodged a swing. "You're not getting tired already, are y-ow!"

Hidan blinked when a blade pierced through his chest, and he looked behind him to see Sasuke there, having quickly closed the distance and stabbed him.

"That hurt, ya dick!" Hidan barked, making Sasuke's eyes widen.

'What?! I pierced his heart! I know I did!' he thought in shock, amazed at the bored, if slightly annoyed, look he was receiving from Hidan. "Hinata, take him down!"

Hinata nodded and rushed forward, but Hidan's elbow flew up and impacted with Sasuke's temple, making him stumble back, pulling his sword out as he did. Then, Hidan charged at Hinata and swung his scythe. It all happened too quickly for the now wide-eyed Hinata to properly react.

"Gotcha!"

"Hinata!"

The scythe flashed, and blood spattered the ground. Hinata's eyes were wide as she stared at Sasuke, who had tackled her to the ground, taking the hit for her. The scythe had sliced his back, but not deep enough to sever his spine. Still, it hurt something fierce.

"Finally!" Hidan barked with a grin as Sasuke flipped to his feet and started flashing through handseals.

'Need to put some distance between him and us so Hinata can heal me,' he thought as he finished the chain in Tiger. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Sasuke blew a massive fireball at Hidan, who simply grinned and licked the blood off his scythe, not making a single move to dodge as the fireball impacted with him, exploding in a cloud of smoke and fire.

"Y-You got him!" Hinata said sighing in elation, only for her eyes to widen as Sasuke grunted in pain. "Sasuke-kun?!"

"W-What the hell is this?" Sasuke spoke through gritted teeth as he looked down as his right hand. The back of it sported burn wounds that hadn't been there before, and his entire arm, his right leg, his right shoulder, the right side of his neck, and his right cheek were stinging from burns as well.

A chuckle sounded, drawing both ninja's attention to the smoke, which slowly cleared.

There, standing in a circle drawn with blood, with a triangle drawn inside it, was Hidan. His skin was black with white skeleton patterns covering it. Also, his body was burned in the exact place as Sasuke...

"How is it?" Hidan asked in a voice that was downright trembling with pleasure. "Does it hurt? You've been cursed now, you know..." Hidan's head snapped up to stare at Sasuke with bloodshot eyes, a massive grin on his face. "Let's savor the utmost pain together!"

"H-How...?" Hinata whispered in surprise. "How did Sasuke-kun get burned?"

Hidan gave a cackle as he reached into his ruined coat to take out a black rod. A spike tip extended from one end, and he grinned widely once more.

"The preparations are now set! Be prepared, because you'll be in so much pain!"

"Tch, you talk too much..." Sasuke grunted out as he twirled his sword, then charged at Hidan, who scoffed as he raised the spike...

...then stabbed it into his own leg...

Sasuke only had time to go wide-eyed, before he tripped and fell to the ground, clutching at his leg. He felt his pant leg getting wet with blood.

"W-What...?"

"Hurts, doesn't it?!" Hidan barked happily, pulling the spike out of his leg. "Not as much as your vitals, I bet! Hehe... That's where you'll find the utmost pain, you know... The pain present when someone dies permeates through my body! It goes beyond pain, beyond words!"

'Seems our bodies are connected somehow...' Sasuke thought, clutching at his leg as he pushed himself into a standing position. 'Any damage done to him will also be done to me... How the hell am I going to deal with that?'

Hidan laughed again, raising his spike into the air.

"What other pains do you wish to savor, hm?! Or... do you want me to end it now?!"

Sasuke and Hinata's eyes widened as Hidan took aim with his spike, and then brought it down toward his chest.

Before it could so much as pierce the skin, however, an explosion in the distance caused the Akatsuki member to pause for a millisecond to glance toward its source. That millisecond's pause saved Sasuke's life, because a blur came shooting at them from Naruto's location, crashing into Hidan and sending him tumbling along the ground with it.

Sasuke grunted in pain and clutched as his chest. It felt like something had just barely pierced it, poking his ribs, but no more than that.

He looked toward Hidan, to see him in a tangled mess on the ground, with Kakuzu on top of him, along with two strange, black creatures with porcelain masks on them. Amazingly, the spike was pierced straight through Hidan's chest.

"Damn it, Kakuzu, what the fuck is wrong with you?!" Hidan barked as the two creatures jumped off, allowing Kakuzu to get up as well. "I was just about to kill that little shit!"

"Shut your trap, Hidan!" Kakuzu growled as he turned his gaze toward Sasuke and Hinata, just as Naruto and Kakashi landed in the clearing.

They were both kind of dirty, and they clothes were ripped here and there, but other than that, they seemed to be fine.

"Seems there will be no separating them," Kakashi commented, and Sasuke gave a sigh of relief.

"Thanks for the save," he said, still clutching at his leg. "I was about to bite it..."

"How the hell did that happen?" Naruto asked in surprise. "You're strong enough to take this guy out, aren't you?"

"He did some kind of ritual. Our bodies are connected. Any would he gets, I get," Sasuke informed them, making their eyes widen. "However, it seems to only work within that circle," he added as he pointed at the symbol painted in blood on the ground. "That thing only barely pierced his chest while he was still in it, but once he was out, I wasn't hurt further."

"Well then," Naruto said simply, flashing through handseals. The ground shooke once more, and wooden poles rose from the ground to form a dome over the symbol, hiding it from view. "There, that should stop him hurting you. Hinata, can you heal Sasuke?"

"Y-Yes, right away!"

"Good," Kakashi said with a nod. "We'll try to keep them occupied until Sasuke is healed. Let's go, Naruto!"

"Right!"

–

Naruto gritted his teeth in annoyance. In some ways, he was upset that he wasn't fighting alone. With his team there, he couldn't go crazy like he used to do during his training trip, because there was a chance that his teammates would get caught in his more destructive jutsu. He didn't yet possess the finesse of the Shodai Hokage.

He was brought out of his musings when one of those strange creatures appeared in front of him, the mouth of the mask opening. A flame sparked in the mouth, and Naruto was quick to flash through seals and erect a wall of water in front of him just as the massive blast of fire came roaring at him.

As the water turned into steam when the attack impacted with his wall, Naruto growled to himself.

'So, Sasuke's life is in constant danger as long as that Hidan chump is still in the game, so we'll have to incapacitate him first... But that's pretty freakin' difficult when this Kakuzu freak and his tentacle buddies keep blocking my path! I don't know how long Kakashi-sensei can last against Hidan... All it would take is a scratch, after all...'

Naruto's thoughts were once more interrupted, this time by Kakuzu himself, who engaged him in a Taijutsu battle once more. For such a stiff-looking guy, Kakuzu sure had speed, managing to dodge all of Naruto's counter-attacks. The man had obviously learned not to try to block Naruto's strikes, which sucked. Even a blocked attack would do considerable damage...

Kakuzu landed a kick into Naruto's chest, sending him stumbling back. When Kakuzu didn't press the attack, Naruto knew something was coming.

As expected, the two creatures appeared on his right, both of them opening their mouths. Naruto knew their elemental abilities, so he knew that a mixed Wind and Fire technique was something to watch out for. Therefore, he backflipped out of the way as the Wind-enhanced ball of fire came shooting at him.

Naruto's eyes widened, however, when he saw the fireball smash into the wooden dome covering the ritual circle, smashing it to bits.

'Shit!' he thought in alarm as he saw a grin spread on Hidan's face.

Hidan broke off his attack on Kakashi and dashed off toward the symbol. When he reached it, stepping onto it, he gave a triumphant laugh as he raised the spike in his hand into the air.

The man was never allowed to stab himself, however, as Naruto came flying at him, tackling him off the circle and to the ground. Before Hidan could even process what had happened, Naruto flipped them over on the ground so he was under Hidan, wrapping his legs around the man's waist and his arm around his neck in a Guillotine choke hold.

"What the hell?!" Hidan barked, flailing his limbs. The force of Naruto's tackle had made him drop his weapons in surprise, so all he could do was wave his hands at Naruto, who tightened his hold. "Let go of me you, brat! What do you think you're-"

A loud crack reverberated through the clearing as Hidan's body went limp. Naruto didn't let up, though. He kept up he pressure, and two more cracks were heard, followed by a snap.

Hidan's neck had been snapped clean off.

"That hurt, you little shit!" came Hidan's voice, which made Naruto's eyes widen. "Now I can't use my fucking body! Are you happy now?!"

"Of course I am," Naruto muttered, pushing the crazy immortal off him and getting to his feet, to see that Kakuzu was standing completely still flanked by his creatures. He was just watching them right now. That was lucky, too, because Kakashi was panting slightly, and Sasuke hadn't been fully healed yet.

"Oi, Kakuzu!" Hidan barked, laying unmoving on the ground. "Come help me out here!"

"You're annoying, Hidan. Shut up," Kakuzu growled out, his eyes fixed on Naruto. "You know, fighting you fills me with nostalgia, boy. You remind me of the first Konoha ninja I ever fought." His eyes narrowed. "The Shodai Hokage!"

Team Seven went wide-eyed at hearing that.

'How old is this guy?!'

"How can that be?" Kakashi asked, narrowing his eyes as well. "Are you immortal?"

"There is no such thing as immortality."

"Oi!" Hidan barked, only to be ignored.

"I have merely come up with a way to prolong my life."

"Then we shouldn't take you lightly," Kakashi said, glancing at his blond student. "Naruto, go wild."

"But you might get caught in it, sensei."

"We'll be fine. Just go crazy."

A grin slowly spread on Naruto's face, and he clapped his hands together as Kakashi leapt away. Sasuke and Hinata did the same, and Kakashi made sure to pick up Hidan's unmoving body before leaving the immediate area.

"Is that wise, boy, having your teammates leave?" Kakuzu asked, which only made Naruto grin wider as he started going through handseals.

"Yeah, because this means I can go all out without worries."

"What?"

"Naruto Hijutsu: Mokuton: Shizen no Fukkatsu (Naruto Secret Technique: Wood Element: Nature's Rebirth)!" Naruto called as he slammed his hands down into the dirt.

The ground started shaking something fierce, which made Kakuzu look around with a small amount of worry in his eyes. Understandable. After all, he had fought the Shodai, so he somewhat knew what to expect. It was also guaranteed to be bigger than the forest Naruto summoned earlier.

Massive trees burst out of the ground, trees the size of redwoods, which made Kakuzu and his creatures leap away to avoid being launched into the air by them.

The trees stretched higher and higher into the air, reaching the same height as the peak of the Hokage monument. The forest Naruto had summoned stretched out in a radius of five miles in every direction.

Naruto looked up to see Kakuzu landing on one of the branches sticking out of one of the trees, and the Akatsuki member shook his head.

"It will take more than a couple of trees to-"

Kakuzu cut himself off and leapt out of the way when wooden spikes shot out of both the trunk and the branch, missing him by less than an inch.

As he landed on the ground, however, he noticed that Naruto had performed another jutsu, and was informed of just what that was when stone spikes shot out of the ground, ready to impale him. He jumped into the air again, only for his eyes to widen when Naruto blurred into view behind him, wrapping his arms around the Akatsuki member and flipping them over in the air so that they were rocketing headfirst toward the ground.

Kakuzu crashed into the dirt, Naruto letting go at the last second and landing on his feet, immediately slamming his palms into the ground. Kakuzu was immediately impaled by three stone spikes, only for his body to explode into water.

'Shit,' Naruto thought as he leapt out of the way of a ball of compressed wind that was fired at him from one of the creatures. He clapped his hands together.

"Mokuton Bunshin!" he called out, and two replicas of himself made out of wood rose from the ground. They changed color to match Naruto perfectly, then immediately took up positions behind Naruto, so that their backs were toward each other, and they formed a triangle, all three of them on guard.

Kakuzu and the creatures had disappeared from view. Unfortunately for them, this was Naruto's forest.

The blond closed his eyes and focused his senses. He reached behind him and tapped his clones on the backs, and the two nodded before charging off toward separate trees. Both clones held out their right hands, a ball of furiously spinning chakra building up in their palms.

"Rasengan!" both clones called out, smashing their chakra balls into their respective trees (In the back of his mind, Naruto knew there was some kind of gay joke in there that could have been told to Sasuke had he been there), completely shredding through them. When they were halfway into the trees, however, anyone watching intently would have been able to see a brief flicker of wind chakra enter the Rasengan balls, which caused them to explode in the clones' hands. The remaining halves of the trees were completely blown up, sending insanely large splinters flying at the creatures hiding behind them.

One of the creatures seemed to have picked up on the Wind chakra in time to jump away, but the other wasn't so lucky, getting completely torn up by the wooden splinters that, upon Naruto forming a half-Ram seal, sprouted a massive amount of spikes that served to pierce its body even further.

One of the spikes hit its mark, because the creature's mask opened in a gasp as three cracks went down its from, before its body started melting just like the other two. When it was nothing more than a puddle of black stuff, the mask shattered.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief, especially when he watched his other clone leap after the other creature and grab it in the air from behind. The creature turned its head toward Naruto and opened his mouth, which made Naruto smirk as he knew exactly what element this was, so he started going through handseals.

'Alright, let's see how we compare,' he thought, clapping his hands together. "Fuuton: Yama no Ishi (Wind Element: Mountain's Will)!"

Naruto clenched his fist, whistling wind gathering around it, and then, just as the creature released its Fuuton attack, Naruto threw a straight right punch up at the creature. The air between Naruto and the creature compressed, the force of the act shaking the surrounding area, and was then sent rocketing straight toward the creature's compressed ball of wind.

The two attacks collided in mid-air, and just the small pieces of the wind chakra that were chipped off and flung aside were enough to cause something akin to a tornado that formed around the two attacks, slicing up any tree reckless enough to remain standing as the wind passed through.

Then, Naruto's attack overpowered the creatures, and Naruto saw, and was fairly he was history's first witness to such a thing, a black-tendril creatures and a wooden clone get sliced up into thousands of small gooey and splintery messes that was launched around the recently made clearing, landing here and there with a splat or two. All that remained of the mask was dust.

"Heh, and that makes four. Only the freak left," Naruto said with a pleased grin. He perked up and spun around, to see Kakuzu standing some distance away from him, glaring heatedly at the blond.

"I wonder if you will look so pleased when I scoop out your brain and crush it in front of your eyes, brat," Kakuzu growled out, which made Naruto scoff.

"Well, joke's on you, dipshit, I hardly even use it!"

"I suppose you have a reason for being able to joke even at this point," Kakuzu said as he clapped his hands together. "However, I'm not through yet!"

Kakuzu tensed up, and his body started bulging everywhere. Something was writhing like crazy under his skin, and the stitches holding his skin together strained and snapped from the pressure put on them.

Hundreds of black tendrils shot out of Kakuzu's body and spilled out of his mouth, which ripped his cowl and facemask off. His limbs were sewn together again, and all the tendrils gathered around Kakuzu's head, forming eight long, black arm-like appendages that surrounded his head. He looked even more freakish now, and the amount of chakra Naruto sensed made Naruto frown.

"What the hell is the point of being really powerful if everyone else is as well?" he muttered to himself, before taking a deep breath and nodding. "Alright, tentacle-face, let's do this!"

With that, Naruto charged.

–

**So, what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Remember to leave a review!**

**Peace,**

**ZnK**


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